Toxic cocktail: how chemical pollution is poisoning our brains

273 Pages·2017·2.14 MB·English

by  Barbara Demeneix

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Toxic Cocktail
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Toxic Cocktail
How Chemical Pollution Is Poisoning
Our Brains
Barbara Demeneix
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Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
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© Oxford University Press 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
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and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Demeneix, Barbara.
Title: Toxic cocktail : how chemical pollution is poisoning our brains /
Barbara Demeneix.
Description: Oxford : Oxford University Press, [2017] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016011950| ISBN 9780190260934 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9780190260958 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Thyroid gland— Effect of chemicals on. | Brain— Effect of
chemicals on. | Brain— Growth. | Pollution— Physiological effect. |
Autism. | Mental illness.
Classification: LCC QP188.T54 D46 2017 | DDC 612.4/ 4— dc23
LC record available at http:// lccn.loc.gov/ 2016011950
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
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All scientific work is incomplete. … That does not confer upon us a freedom
to ignore the knowledge we already have, or to postpone the action that it
appears to demand at a given time.
Sir Austin Bradford Hill, “The Environment and Disease:
Association or Causation?”
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 1965
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Contents
Acknowledgments  ix
Abbreviations  xi
Note to the Reader  xv
Introduction  1
1. Violet Vapors  11
2. A Molecule of Mystery  29
3. Thyroids in a Chemical Soup  49
4. Losing It: Undoing Brain Evolution  75
5. The Alarming Increase in Autism  93
6. From DNA to Epigenetics  113
7. Counting the Costs  137
8. Who Really Picks Up the Bill?  159
9. Time to Act and How to Act  179
Glossary  207
Notes  211
References  223
Index  245
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Acknowledgments
This book owes a great deal to many colleagues and friends.
I benefited from the expertise of four readers and critics: Dr. Tim Koreevar
(Erasmus University, Rotterdam); Dr. Pete Taylor (Cardiff University, Cardiff,
Wales); Professor Ana Soto (Tufts University, Boston); and Michael Westlake. The
first three, all medically qualified research scientists, took time from their demand-
ing schedules to read the first draft with an eye to scientific accuracy and logic. Any
remaining errors are my responsibility. Prior to sending them the text, my friend
and most critical reader, Michael Westlake, had done a detailed read- through, sug-
gesting improvements in expression and pushing me to rewrite where needed.
My editor at OUP, Joan Bossert, provided excellent editorial guidance. Both Joan
and Lynn Luecken gave me valuable input on structure and organization. Earlier
drafts were also read and corrected by family and friends with no scientific back-
ground to ensure the level was appropriate for other lay readers. So, my daughter,
Ariane; my sister, Louise Keeling; and my long- standing friend, Brenda Swift, read
through most chapters, pointing out complex ideas that required better explana-
tion and providing insight through their queries. Another friend, Joanne Burden,
and my son, Laurent, participated in the brainstorming on titles, as did Aimée
Middlemiss and Matt Frost. Thanks to you all.
My team in Paris had, yet again, to put up with my preoccupation with the writing
and my lesser availability in the lab. I really appreciated your steadfastness. Special
mention to doctoral students past and present James Bowers, Jean David Gothié,
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