Does Aspergillus mold require iron to survive?

[Guest guest]

I have a couple of questions about Aspergillus mold that I was hoping the group

could help me answer.

Does Aspergillus mold require iron in order to survive in the human body?

Also, can a fungus such as Aspergillus cause a person to have low levels of iron

in the blood?

-

[Guest guest]

:

In order to bring a straigforeward answer to your question #1 re: Aspergillus

and Iron requirements to Google: type, " Aspergillus Iron "

For your answer to question number two: type the following: " Human low iron

production caused by Aspergillus "

I believe the listings shown will lead you to specific information for your

questions.

Have a Blessed day.

Doug Haney

From: millhouseroad@...

Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:59:11 +0000

Subject: [] Does Aspergillus mold require iron to survive?

I have a couple of questions about Aspergillus mold that I was hoping the group

could help me answer.

Does Aspergillus mold require iron in order to survive in the human body?

Also, can a fungus such as Aspergillus cause a person to have low levels of iron

in the blood?

-

_________________________________________________________________

Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync.

http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_allup_1a_explore_042009

[Guest guest]

Dear  List Members,

I have a related question. What would excessive levels of iron in a person

indicate? I've no iron supplements, nor much of any iron in our water, no iron

cooking products. I've been exposed to mold at some point and prior to that

already had hashimotos. My endocrinologist had suggested that this could

indicate a problem with the pituitary? Has anyone ever heard of this or any

related reason for high iron? Could a mold exposure trigger this?

Many thanks,

Sam

I have a couple of questions about Aspergillus mold that I was hoping the

group could help me answer.

[Guest guest]

Sam,

Many people of European descent have a condition called hemochromatosis. It is

an inability of the body to excrete iron. After a long period of time the body

accumulates iron in the organs and brain and eventually, without treatment, it

results in death. A treatment is available and cheap. You may be able to be paid

for the treatment which is blood letting. I first learned about this disease

when I was diagnosed with Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency due to some kind of

infiltration disease of my hypothalamus. I now believe that the infiltration was

mycotoxins and endotoxins. I was also found to have fatty liver so I researched

this disease quite extensively as all my symptoms were similar.

Women who have hemochromotosis are generally protected until menopause as

monthly menses will naturally shed excess iron during the monthly cycles. I

have a friend who has it and was fortunate to find out about it in her thirties.

She goes once a month and donates a pint of blood. She will live a normal life.

Evolutionarily hemochromotosis evolved because man would bleed a lot so the body

developed an ability to stay alive in the short term by hoarding iron. During

the plague they believe that those who were immune to the plague, a bacteria

infection had hemochromotosis. When the body hoards iron the bacteria does not

have the same ability to spread through the blood. But for this same reason

those that survived passed on the gene to their children making hemochromotosis

even more prevalent. I read the evolutionary aspect of hemochromotosis in the

book called Survival of the Sickest. Dr. Sharon Moalem, the author has

hemochromotosis.

Another interesting fact is the story about the discovery that bacteria thrives

on iron.

This is an excerpt from the book Survival of the Sickest.

" In 1952 Eugene D. Weinberg was a gifted microbial researcher with a healthy

curiosity and a sick wife. Diagnosed with a mild infection, his wife was

prescribed tetracycline, an antibiotic. Professor Weinberg wondered whether

anything in her diet could interfere with the effectiveness of the antibiotic. "

" Weinberg knew how little we knew, and he knew how unpredictable bacteria could

be, so he wanted to test how the antibiotic would react to the presence or

absence of specific chemicals that his wife was adding to her system by eating.

In his lab, at Indiana University, he directed his assistant to load up dozens

of Petri dishes with three compounds: tetracycline, bacteria, and a third

organic or elemental nutrient, which varied from dish to dish. A few days

later, one dish was so loaded with bacteria that Professor Weinberg's assistant

assumed she had forgotten to add the antibiotic to that dish. She repeated the

test for that nutrient and got the same result – massive bacteria growth. The

nutrient in this sample was providing so much booster fuel to the bacteria that

it effectively neutralized the antibiotic. You guessed it – it was iron. "

> Dear  List Members,

>

> I have a related question. What would excessive levels of iron in a person

indicate? I've no iron supplements, nor much of any iron in our water, no iron

cooking products. I've been exposed to mold at some point and prior to that

already had hashimotos. My endocrinologist had suggested that this could

indicate a problem with the pituitary? Has anyone ever heard of this or any

related reason for high iron? Could a mold exposure trigger this?

>

> Many thanks,

> Sam

>

[Guest guest]

: The simple answer to both of your questions is yes. All liviing

organisms that have iron containing proteins and enzymes, e.g. cytochromes,

require iron to survive. The your second question is just as vital. Vesper and

Vesper published their paper in Straus' Sick Building Syndrome on hemolytic

proteins produced by molds. As I recall, approximately 12 species of

Aspergillus and 11 species of Peniciillium along with several other molds (e.g.

Stachybotrys, Trichoderma, Memnoniella) also produce the hemolysins. The

hemolysins lyse the RBCs while the role of the siderophores is to make the iron

available for the mold to utlize.So as Doug suggested and the google search will

give you the information that you need.

Jack D. Thrasher, Ph.D.

Toxicologist/Immunotoxicologist/Fetaltoxicologist

www.drthrasher.org

toxicologist1@...

Off: 916-745-4703

Cell: 575-937-1150

L. Crawley, M.ED., LADC

Trauma Specialist

sandracrawley@...

916-745-4703 - Off

775-309-3994 - Cell

This message and any attachments forwarded with it is to be considered

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[Guest guest]

Sam: There are several known conditions that cause elevated iron in the blood.

The condition is called Hemachromatosis. You can do a Google search on the

disease. The 9 conditons are given below. You can look each one up with a

Google search. It is interesting that chronic hemolytic anemia, which can be

caused by Aspergillus, is on the list.

a.. Hereditary haemochromatosis (genetic disorder)

a.. Dietary iron excess

a.. Chronic haemolytic anaemia (see Anemia)

a.. Multiple blood transfusions

a.. Other anaemias

a.. Sideroblastic anaemia

a.. Alcoholism

a.. Alcoholic liver disease

a..

Jack D. Thrasher, Ph.D.

Toxicologist/Immunotoxicologist/Fetaltoxicologist

www.drthrasher.org

toxicologist1@...

Off: 916-745-4703

Cell: 575-937-1150

L. Crawley, M.ED., LADC

Trauma Specialist

sandracrawley@...

916-745-4703 - Off

775-309-3994 - Cell

This message and any attachments forwarded with it is to be considered

privileged and confidential. The forwarding or redistribution of this message

(and any attachments) without my prior written consent is strictly prohibited

and may violate privacy laws. Once the intended purpose of this message has been

served, please destroy the original message contents. If you have received this

message in error, please reply immediately to advise the sender of the

miscommunication and then delete the message and any copies you have printed.

Thank you in advance for your compliance.

[Guest guest]

Dr. Thrasher,

Thank you so much for your feedback on my question. I will google these

possibilities. Although, so far we 've tested water, double-checked food and

supplements and found almost no iron intake. I've never been a drinker, but have

had off and on liver and gb discomfort. I've had blood tests and ultrsounds over

the years and nothing ever came up there. I've never been a drinker either.

In your experience, if this was connected to aspergillus exposure; what tests

are there if any that might prove that so as to point the doctors in a correct

direction? The initial exposure was as a while back. Would I still have the

aspergillus in my system to detect after a year or two?

Do you know of any form of treatments? One of the issues I am up against is the

lack of experience of the docs. Molds like aspergillus were found in the water

damaged area and circulating through the house. The levels were sgnificant but

due to our efforts to seal off the area, they may not have been off the charts.

But would that in itself indicate that the exposure would not be enough to cause

a problem? 

I hope you don't mind the questions, Dr. Thrasher. Certainly would appreciate

your thoughts if you have the time.

Respectfully,

Sam

Sam: There are several known conditions that cause elevated iron in the blood.

The condition is called Hemachromatosis. You can do a Google search on the

disease. The 9 conditons are given below. You can look each one up with a

Google search. It is interesting that chronic hemolytic anemia, which can be

caused by Aspergillus, is on the list.