New findings on ‘toxic mold’ will further debate

[Guest guest]

New findings on `toxic mold' will further debate

02 January, 2009 05:06:00 Kathlyn Stone

Flesh and Stone - St.,MN,USA

http://www.fleshandstone.net/healthandsciencenews/1467.html

Cleaning a household mold infestation

Mold toxins in buildings damaged by moisture are much more prevalent

and more potent than previously thought, according to new

international research from Lund University in Sweden. Scientific

research concerning toxic mold has broad implications for not only

patients with respiratory illnesses but also U.S. home sellers,

building contractors, trial lawyers and insurance companies.

Researchers in the university's medical microbiology lab analyzed

dust and material samples from buildings damaged by mold using mass

spectometry. The 167 samples studied came from numerous sources,

including some buildings flooded in New Orleans during Hurricane

Katrina. They found that 67% of all of the samples contained at

least one mold toxin.

" Previously it was claimed that the occurrence of mould does not

necessarily mean that there are toxins present. But they are! On the

contrary, we can assume that wherever there is visible mould, there

are also mould toxins, " says a Bloom a doctoral candidate at

Sweden's Lund University. Bloom's study also asserts toxins

produced by mold are more potent than previously thought. " It has

now been shown, for instance, that mould toxins (mycotoxins) not

only directly kill cells but can also affect immune cells in a way

that increases the risk of allergies, " wrote Bloom. " Even incredibly

tiny amounts of these toxins can do this, as little as a few

picograms (a picogram is one millionth of a millionth of a gram). "

These extremely small particles can enter the lungs more easily than

the spores that have been the focus of much more study, said

Bloom. " We looked at 6-7 different mycotoxins and found them in a

majority of the samples. And since there are at least 400 sorts of

mycotoxins, what we have seen is probably just the tip of the

iceberg, " she says.

The Lund team will continue to study the health effects of mold, and

will take part in a large EU study on the possible connection

between asthma and allergies and indoor environments in schools.

Keeping mold (and other) research news in perspective

In 2007 I reported on a Thorax-published study of 95 asthma patients

and 87 controls in South Wales that found the patients' respiratory

illnesses improved after the visible mold was removed from their

homes.

" Asthma and rhinitis symptoms and the use of medications to treat

them were reduced in patients who took part in a randomized

controlled trial to see if removing visible household mould would

relieve symptoms. "

After a year the intervention group (those whose mold was removed)

reduced their use of medications by 22% while the controls reduced

their medications by 16%. The intervention group also reported about

24% net improvement in rhinitis and rhino conjunctivitis symptoms

than the control group, and the intervention group also showed an

improvement in wheeze that affected their activities like sleeping

and speaking (31% vs 7% improvement reported by the control

group). "

In the story about the South Wales study, I included comments from

Woodcock, MD, University of Manchester, UK, who outlined some

of the challenges researchers face when attempting to isolate causes

of respiratory diseases thought to be the result of indoor mold.

Among them are the lack of sophisticated and standardized skin prick

tests for mold susceptibility and the million-wide range of fungal

species.

Woodcock said the results of the South Wales mold and asthma study

were important but not wholly conclusive because improvement in

symptoms could have been due to factors other than removing mold,

such as a reduction in passive smoking or exposure to mite allergens.

Often, news announcements from research institutions are reported as

is by reporters challenged by deadlines, word length and

background. To serve readers and do the research justice,

journalists should read and cite the published study and, when

possible, contact experts not involved with the study to discover

possible opposing views and drawbacks.

A few years ago, Rangle, MD, author of RangleMD.com, wrote a

column, " Toxic Mold Hysteria, " in which he responded to a news

report about a mass outbreak of illnesses related to mold found in a

Connecticut school. Rangle asserted that it was only after mold was

discovered that " occupants begin reporting symptoms. "

After clarifying that common molds, and particularly aspergillus,

can aggravate existing diseases, he added that " in none of these

patient populations is the mold blamed for causing the disease, only

for aggravating it. "

" It's only human nature for people to try and make a connection

between their health and environmental factors and it's in the

apparent nature of the media and lawyers to feed the fire of

hysteria for the sake of ratings and personal gain. " -- RangleMD.com

With mass spectrometry and data sharing growing among researchers,

and the public's growing awareness about mold, expect to hear much

more about its health and legal impacts.

Citations:

Bloom, a, Mycotoxins in Indoor Environments: Determination using

Mass Spectrometry. Doctoral Thesis 2008

Burr ML, s IP, Arthur RA, Effects on patients with asthma of

eradicating visible indoor mould: a randomized controlled trial.

Thorax. 2007 Sep;62(9):766-71. Epub 2007 Mar 27.

Comments (2 posted):

on 03 January, 2009 10:28:40

What a great study, we need more of them and the Federal Government

should now take action to protect the poulation better instead of

playing to the nsurance industry. I live in FL and I can take you to

quite a few of the big chain stores where the smell of mold is over

powering, when you talk to the managers they just blow it off. How

do they know that some of their shoppers are not Asthma sufferers,

allergic to mold or their immune system is not compromised in some

way. These type of studies should be commended and I congratulate

all concerned, especially the writer of this article bringing these

studies to our attention is true education, thankyou.

I work in the IAQ industry and have seen many clients suffer ill

health effects,when we have removed the mold, applied non-toxic

answers to remediation cleaning methods and non toxic prevention

products the occupiers appear to regain the health.

I would like to see a study of mold remediation using the normal

cleaners to see if the chemical mixing with the mycotoxins in the

air produce any added health effects/dangers by creating a toxic

soup and how long would this toxic soup remain in the indoor

environment environment.

Kat on 03 January, 2009 11:08:34

Thanks,.

I'm looking at mold remediation studies and plan to write about it

soon. Remediation should be the first step and an option for

building owners/sellers before lawsuits but that isn't the case in

many states.

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