Boron and Disease

Boron's ability to induce sex hormone levels give it a role preventing chronic disease. For example, adequate dietary boron may potentially reduce risk of lung cancer (1). The effects also explain why boron supplementation may support bone density guarding against osteoporosis (2).

However, caution should be exercised before supplementation with boron. Greater estrogen levels due to boron supplementation may potentially increase risk of breast cancer (1;2). Thus, boron should not be taken by women with high risk of breast cancer or who've had breast cancer.

Reference List

1. http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/health/2813008/
2. http://www.osteopenia3.com/Boron-Osteoporosis.html

Nickel toxicity

Nickel is a known carcinogen. When in the diet in toxic amounts it contributes to oxidative stress, just as mercury and cadmium do, by reducing glutathione thereby interfering with cell membrane integrity and increasing lipid peroxidation (1). The oxidative damage, like from free iron or copper, can cause DNA damage (2).

Reference List

1. Valko M, Morris H, Cronin MT. Metals, toxicity and oxidative stress. Curr Med Chem 2005;12:1161-208.

2. Tkeshelashvili LK, Reid TM, McBride TJ, Loeb LA. Nickel induces a signature mutation for oxygen free radical damage. Cancer Research; 53, 4172-4174, September 15, 1993.

Flouride and the World

As one travels around the world, especially in developing countries, the state of oral health stands out as an issue that needs attention. Fluoride treatment of drinking water can be an important step in improving oral health (1), but some populations may find it's not necessary because they may already be consuming adequate or even too much fluoride daily.
Careful review of fluoride exposure must be evaluated region by region before deciding to treat local water with fluoride (2). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), flouride intake can vary depending fluoride already in water, on diet and other variables such as local pollution (2).

Areas of greater volcanic activity, for example, tend have highest concentrations of fluoride in groundwater (2). The act of tea drinking can provide significant amounts of fluoride (1). In parts of China where high-fluoride coal is burned, the ash that pollutes crops may be providing fluoride (2). And in Tanzania, the use of contaminated trona to tenderize vegetables contributes fluoride can easily result in excess amounts of fluoride ingested daily (2).

Reference List
1. Gropper SS, Smith JL, Groff JL. Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2009.3.
2. World Health Organization. Fluoride in Drinking Water. Available at http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/fluoride_drinking_water_full.pdf

Molybdenum and Gout

A young electrician with a painful gouty arthritis in 2005 became the first case observed of occupational exposure of toxic amounts of molybdenum (1). Molybdenum is an activator of xanthine oxidase, which oxidizes xanthine producing uric acid (2). Too much produced hyperuricemia (1). The electrician can be thankful that his doctors found the cause of the gout because of previous men afflicted with gout by having consumed 10 to 15 mg of molybdenum daily (3;4). Tolerable uptake limits are set at 2 mg (2).

Reference List
1. Selden AI, Berg NP, Soderbergh A, Bergstrom BE. Occupational molybdenum exposure and a gouty electrician. Occup Med (Lond) 2005;55:145-8.2. Gropper SS, Smith JL, Groff JL. Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2009.3. http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/molybdenum/4. http://www.crnusa.org/safetypdfs/027CRNSafetyMolybdenum.pdf

Manganese as a Neurotoxin

Toxicity of manganese is more common than its deficiency (1), which unfortunately cause damage to the brain. Manganese appears to cause neurogeneration by activating microglia and causing them to release neurotoxins such as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, which produce oxidative damage (2). The neurotoxins are also thought to possibly alter influence of neurotransmitters such as dopamine or gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) (1). According to a studies on non-human primates exposed to high doses of manganese, the mineral can lead to deficits in working memory performance and even induce an increase of beta-amyloid production linking manganese to Alzheimer's disease (3;4).

Reference List
1. Anderson JG, Fordahl SC, Cooney PT, Weaver TL, Colyer CL, Erikson KM. Manganese exposure alters extracellular GABA, GABA receptor and transporter protein and mRNA levels in the developing rat brain. Neurotoxicology 2008;29:1044-53.
2. Zhang P, Wong TA, Lokuta KM, Turner DE, Vujisic K, Liu B. Microglia enhance manganese chloride-induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration: role of free radical generation. Exp Neurol 2009;217:219-30.
3. Schneider JS, Decamp E, Clark K, Bouquio C, Syversen T, Guilarte TR. Effects of chronic manganese exposure on working memory in non-human primates. Brain Res 2009;1258:86-95.
4. Burton NC, Guilarte TR. Manganese neurotoxicity: lessons learned from longitudinal studies in nonhuman primates. Environ Health Perspect 2009;117:325-32.

Mutagenic Metals

The biochemical mechanism by which metals are mutagenic is by their effects on DNA. The main pathway shared by iron, copper, chromium, vanadium and cobalt is by redox-cycling reactions and mercury, cadmium and nickel by depleting glutathione and bonding to sulfihydryl groups (1). Free iron, in particular, can cause oxidative damage on DNA that can cause cancer in the spleen (2). Arsenic, in particular binds directly to critical thiols producing DNA damage (1). Cadmium interferes with and inhibits DNA repair (3;4).

Reference List
1. Valko M, Morris H, Cronin MT. Metals, toxicity and oxidative stress. Curr Med Chem 2005;12:1161-208.
2. Wu X, Kannan S, Ramanujam VM, Khan MF. Iron release and oxidative DNA damage in splenic toxicity of aniline. J Toxicol Environ Health A 2005;68:657-66.
3. Slebos RJ, Li M, Evjen AN, Coffa J, Shyr Y, Yarbrough WG. Mutagenic effect of cadmium on tetranucleotide repeats in human cells. Mutat Res 2006;602:92-9.
4. Giaginis C, Gatzidou E, Theocharis S. DNA repair systems as targets of cadmium toxicity. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2006;213:282-90.

Ca and Mg balance

Calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) are non-heavy metals with the same valence charge that are both critical for physiologic function, yet overlap each other in their mechanisms. For example, they both use the same transport systems in kidney competing with each other for absorption. They also oppose one another in blood coagulation, smooth muscle contraction and PTH release.

The relationship between Ca and Mg is important as it promotes a balance in given biological systems for proper function of the body. Deficiency either mineral could result in an improper balance leading to problems.