Study on Faridkot special children finds overexposure to uranium

The study (Maedica Volume 5 No.2 2010) suggested that a comparative study on the healthy children of Punjab would be of particular interest in this regard.

“From our results,we conclude that metal overexposure was detected for our test groups. Chronic and immediate uranium exposure was detected,but we cannot conclude that the health problems found in these children are due to the uranium exposure as has been indicated in media coverage. To further support and prove such a link,follow-up studies are required. Of particular interest would be a comparative study on healthy Punjab children,” says the study titled ‘Metal exposure in the physically and mentally challenged children of Punjab’.

“We are aware that different toxic metals require different antidotes,and metal overloads found in the children necessitate further inquiry and more specific treatment,including nutritional support which can prevent excessive uptake of environmental toxins,” said the study.

The study was conducted jointly by E Blaurock-Busch,a research director at Micro Trace Minerals Laboratory and advisor to the International Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology and the German Medical Association of Metal Toxicology,Albrecht Friedle,who is founder and CEO of the environmental laboratory,Labor Friedle,Regensburg (Germany),and has specialised in the determination of residues and contaminants in the trace levels,Michael Godfrey,MD,Director International Board of Clinical Metal Toxicologist,New Zealand,and Prof Claus E E Schulte-Uebbing,MD,Age Breaking Center,Praxis Professor (EU),Munich,Germany.

The study was basically conducted “to evaluate if hair analysis and/or urine provocation confirm or refute long-term metal intoxication,to support or refute that hair mineral analysis confirms urine challenge test results and to support or refute that a DMSA (Dimercapto Succinic Acid) urine challenge test provides a valuable treatment option formetal exposure in children”.

It concluded: “Our results documented that hair and urine mineral analysis results are supportive of each other,and are both useful diagnostic tools in chelation therapy. We also documented that a DMSA challenge test confirms long term exposure as detected through hair mineral analysis. This indicates that the chelating agent DMSA provides a safe and valuable treatment option for Lead overexposure.”

The study was conducted in five phases beginning with the collection of hair samples from 149 children at the Faridkot centre to find toxic metal concentration. It also tested baseline urine samples and provocation urine samples (by DMSA challenge test) and found overexposure to different metals.

The hair mineral analysis (HMA),samples for which were collected by Dt Carin Smit,medical toxicologist of South Africa,showed that 88 per cent of the children below 12 years of age exceeded the standard reference range of uranium; 87 per cent exceeded the reference range of manganese and 55 percent of lead. The concentration of barium and cadmium was also found to be more than the permissible normal ranges.

The adults,too,had more than permissible ranges in all five categories.