Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis after Long-Term Exposure to Drinking Water with High Selenium Content

Abstract

We evaluated the risk of Wilms' tumor in the offspring of women taking various medications during pregnancy in a case, control study conducted in Brazil. The study accrued 109 cases and 218 age- and gender-matched hospital controls. After adjustment for known confounders, we found a strong association with ingestion of dipyrone (odds ratio = 10.9; 95% confidence interval = 2.4-50) particularly in women from low-income families. Although dipyrone-containing analgesics are banned in Europe and North America, they are widely prescribed in Brazil and are given as free samples in neighborhood clinics providing free health care. The strong effect specific to low-income women may result from higher individual consumption compared with women at higher income levels.

Socioeconomic status and the incidence of non-central nervous system childhood embryonic tumours in Brazil

“…The potential involvement of genetic and environment exposures in the development of WT is challenge to be explored, because in WT both genetic and environmental component are involved, although the exact aetiology remains unclear [23,24]. In a small case-control study conducted in different Brazilian cities, positive associations among parental exposure to pesticides before birth and maternal exposure to dipyrone during pregnancy were observed [25,26]. An elegant ecological analysis described by McNally et al suggested that environmental exposure and life style are associated with WT and soft tissue sarcomas [27].…”

Acute oral selenium intoxication with ten times the lethal dose resulting in deep gastric ulcer

“…Adequate dietary supplementation of Se is thought to prevent cancer. In contrast, chronic Se intoxication has been reported in areas with high levels of Se in the soil (11)(12)(13). Acute Se intoxication is very rare, perhaps due to the discomfort or incompatibility with normal living conditions associated with the extremely strong garlicky odors that ingestion causes.…”

The Association of Exposure to Lead, Mercury, and Selenium and the Development of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and the Epigenetic Implications

“…Vinceti et al [46] studied a population that was also exposed to high levels of environmental selenium in Rivalta, Italy, where the municipal tap water contained elevated levels of selenium between 1972 and 1988. A cohort of residence living in Rivalta between 1980 and 1985 were found to have a standardized incidence ratio of 4.22 (95% CI: 1.15-10.8) compared to the unexposed population of the municipality.…”