Accomplishments--Environmental Med
Accomplishments of Environmental Medicine
Since its establishment in 1966, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has sponsored successful programs to:
- Describe 11 important categories of diseases and other health consequences of global climate change
- Identify liver enzymes which decrease drug metabolism
- Collaborate with other agencies to use state-of-the art technology to evaluate possible chemical and environmental toxins
- Study how the environment and genes together affect the chance that a woman will get breast cancer by studying women and their sisters
- Develop small, wearable electronic sensor technologies ("electronic noses") to detect high exposures to toxic chemicals that pose serious health risks in the workplace or through accidental exposure
- Show a statistical link between the level of methylmercury exposure in mothers during pregnancy and their children's performance on neurological tests
- Show that calorie-restricted diets may slow the development of bladder cancer
- Show that children who are exposed to relatively small amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) before birth have higher rates of low-normal IQ scores, poor reading comprehension, and memory problems
- Show that boys with relatively high levels of lead in their bones are more likely to engage in aggressive acts and delinquent behavior
- Show that phenolphthalein, a widely-used laxative, causes ovarian and other cancers in laboratory rats and mice
- Show that intercourse during the six days leading up to a woman's ovulation is most likely to result in conception of a child
- Show there is a depletion in the earth's ozone shield
- Isolate the tumor-suppressor gene, BRCA1, that is thought to play a critical role in the development of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer
- Show an association between exposure to fine particles, sulfur dioxide, and acid aerosols, and an increase in respiratory symptoms, reduced lung capacity, and risk of early death
- Show that reducing the organic contaminants in chlorinated drinking water may enhance the benefits of this water treatment method
- Show that asbestos and other fibrous materials stimulate the release of a highly reactive form of oxygen that has been shown to damage lung tissue
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Online Resources of Environmental Medicine
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