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by Source: Murray State University
January 1, 1999
Could things as seemingly benign as fruit juice, beer and the clear, cellophane wrap used to protect your PB&J be silently damaging your immune system? Researchers at Murray State University in Kentucky and Tennessee State University are studying a class of chemicals called butyltins that "weaken the cancer-killing power of natural killer (NK) white blood cells."
The study looked at three types of the chemical: mono-, di-, and tributyltin. The latter is the most toxic and found in wood preservatives and in the paint used on boat hulls to stop barnacles from growing there. When traces of the chemical began showing up in marine life (like in Chesapeake Bay where entire populations of oysters were converted to one gender and in the Gulf of Mexico where dolphins and whales were dying) studies were done on rats and mice, producing similar immune-suppression results. Finally, the human factor was studied.
The NK cells of eight people were isolated and exposed to tributyltin. These contaminated cells were then placed in a solution with leukemia cells. The NK cells were from 40 to 90 percent less effective against the cancer cells. "It seems that if we're exposed to those compounds in our body, then we will be susceptible to cancer and viral infections," a researcher said. Perhaps most frightening, the damage occurred in as little as one hour. Significant, since it takes the body 24 to 48 hours to eliminate the butyltins.
The less harmful mono- and dibutyltins are found in the aforementioned fruit juice, beer and cellophane wrap, and also in shower curtains. Exposure from touching your shower curtain is minimal, however, the danger may be greater with plastic wrap, whose particles can get in the food and then be consumed. And exposure to all of the chemicals can be caused by inhalation.
This is the first study being done to discover how butyltins effect the human immune system. There is also a study being conducted currently to look at the effects of butyltins at a cellular level in mice.
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