http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/914
are MCS-type diseases mainly psychosomatic?: Sullivan: Murray: Pall:
12.12.2 rmforall

Dec 12 2002 I am grateful to Dick Sullivan for noticing my recent long
reviews and their import, and for providing recent abstracts of studies
suggesting a mainly psychosomatic view of MCS-type diseases. I quickly
found recent opposing reports.

Sliding down the slippery slope, aspartame use has been very
widespread since 1981. It must deliver an extraordinary level of
unexcreted formaldehyde and formic acid from its 11% methanol component,
in daily heavy use, above 2 L = 5.6 12-oz cans. It must be a critical,
albeit almost completely overlooked, variable, one that must widely
potentiate a variety of "psychogenic" disorders, as its inevitable toxic
metabolites accumulate cumulatively for months and years. It's time for
researchers, clinicians, and doctors to ascertain the aspartame use of
their clients.

I will be happy to mail a zerox of this, which I summarized in my post
#910 of 12.9.2, correcting errors in my similar previous posts:

J. Nutrition 1973 Oct; 103(10): 1454-1459.
Metabolism of aspartame in monkeys.
Oppermann JA, Muldoon E, Ranney RE.
Dept. of Biochemistry, Searle Laboratories,
Division of G.D. Searle and Co. Box 5110, Chicago, IL 60680
They found that about 70% of the radioactive methanol in aspartame put
into the stomachs of 3 to 7 kg monkeys was eliminated within a day as
carbon dioxide in exhaled air and as water in the urine. They did not
mention that this meant that about 30% of the methanol must transform
into formaldehyde and then into formic acid, much of which must remain
as toxic products in all parts of the body. They did not report any
studies on the distribution of radioactivity in body tissues, except
that blood plasma proteins after 4 days held 4% of the initial
methanol. This study did not monitor long-term use of aspartame.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/910
formaldehyde & formic acid from methanol in aspartame:
Murray: 12.9.2 rmforall

It is certain that high levels of aspartame use, above 2 liters daily
for months and years, must lead to chronic formaldehyde-formic acid
toxicity, since 11% of aspartame (1,120 mg in 2L diet soda, 5.6 12-oz
cans) is 123 mg methanol (wood alcohol), immediately released into the
body after drinking (unlike the large levels of methanol locked up in
molecules inside many fruits), then quickly transformed into
formaldehyde, which in turn becomes formic acid, both of which in
time become carbon dioxide and water-- however, about 30% of the
methanol remains in the body as cumulative durable toxic metabolites of
formaldehyde and formic acid-- 37 mg daily, a gram every month.
If 10% of the methanol is retained as formaldehyde, that would give 12
mg daily formaldehyde accumulation, about 60 times more than the 0.2 mg
from 10% retention of the 2 mg EPA daily limit for formaldehyde in
drinking water.

Bear in mind that the EPA limit for formaldehyde in
drinking water is 1 ppm,
or 2 mg daily for a typical daily consumption of 2 L of water.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/835
RTM: ATSDR: EPA limit 1 ppm formaldehyde in drinking water July 1999
5.30.2 rmforall

This long-term low-level chronic toxic exposure leads to typical
patterns of increasingly severe complex symptoms, starting with
headache, fatigue, joint pain, irritability, memory loss, and leading to
vision and eye problems and even seizures. In many cases there is
addiction. Probably there are immune system disorders, with a
hypersensitivity to these toxins and other chemicals.
*******

Arch Environ Health 1999 May-Jun;54(3):147-9
Multiple chemical sensitivity: a 1999 consensus.

Consensus criteria for the definition of multiple chemical sensitivity
(MCS) were first identified in a 1989 multidisciplinary survey of 89
clinicians and researchers with extensive experience in, but widely
differing views of, MCS.

A decade later, their top 5 consensus criteria (i.e., defining MCS as
[1] a chronic condition
[2] with symptoms that recur reproducibly
[3] in response to low levels of exposure
[4] to multiple unrelated chemicals and
[5] improve or resolve when incitants are removed)
are still unrefuted in published literature. Along with a 6th criterion
that we now propose adding (i.e., requiring that symptoms occur in
multiple organ systems), these criteria are all commonly encompassed by
research definitions of MCS.

Nonetheless, their standardized use in clinical settings is still
lacking, long overdue, and greatly needed, especially in light of
government studies in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada that
revealed 2-4 times as many cases of chemical sensitivity among Gulf War
veterans than undeployed controls. In addition, state health department
surveys of civilians in New Mexico and California showed that 2-6%,
respectively, already had been diagnosed with MCS and that 16% of the
civilians reported an "unusual sensitivity" to common everyday
chemicals.

Given this high prevalence, as well as the 1994 consensus of the
American Lung Association, American Medical Association, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission that "complaints [of MCS] should not be dismissed as
psychogenic, and a thorough workup is essential," we recommend that MCS
be formally diagnosed--in addition to any other disorders that may be
present--in all cases in which the 6 aforementioned consensus criteria
are met and no single other organic disorder (e.g., mastocytosis) can
account for all the signs and symptoms associated with chemical
exposure.

The millions of civilians and tens of thousands of Gulf War veterans who
suffer from chemical sensitivity should not be kept waiting any longer
for a standardized diagnosis while medical research continues to
investigate the etiology of their signs and symptoms. PMID: 10444033
*******

Arch Environ Health 1994 Sep-Oct;49(5):316-25
Psychogenic origins of multiple chemical sensitivities syndrome: a
critical review of the research literature.
Davidoff AL, Fogarty L.
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Hygiene and
Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

The purpose of this review was to critically evaluate research on the
psychogenic origins of multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) syndrome.
Using as keywords environmental illness, multiple chemical
sensitivities, and clinical ecology, two databases-- PsychLit and
Medline-- were searched by computer; reference lists of all articles
located were also searched manually. Ten articles meeting three
criteria were selected for review. Five sample selection problems,
seven measurement problems, and three study design problems were common
in all but one of the articles reviewed. Current studies investigating
psychogenic hypotheses of MCS syndrome are methodologically problematic
and their conclusions questionable. Studies of psychiatric profiles
observed in MCS syndrome need to be designed to differentiate between
competing psychogenic and biogenic hypotheses.
Publication Types: Review Review, Academic PMID: 7944561
*******

Ann N Y Acad Sci 2001 Mar;933:24-37
Controlled exposures to volatile organic compounds in sensitive groups.
Fiedler N, Kipen HM.

UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Environmental and Occupational
Health Sciences Institute, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
nfiedler@...

Sensitivities to chemicals are characterized by symptoms in multiple
organ systems in response to low-level chemical exposures. This paper
reviews studies of controlled exposures to odorants and to mixtures of
volatile organic compounds. Sensitive subgroups include subjects who met
Cullen's 1987 criteria for multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), Gulf War
veterans with chronic fatigue syndrome and chemical sensitivity
(CFS/CS), and subjects with specific self-reported sensitivities to
methyl terbutyl ether (MTBE) in gasoline (MTBE-sensitive). All studies
include comparison of age- and sex-matched healthy controls.

Studies of olfaction did not support unusual sensitivity, defined as
lower odor thresholds, among MCS subjects; however, a dose-response
pattern of symptoms was observed in response to suprathreshold
concentrations of phenyl ethyl alcohol.

In blinded, controlled exposures to clean air, gasoline, gasoline/11%
MTBE, and gasoline/15% MTBE, a threshold effect was observed with
MTBE-sensitive subjects reporting significantly increased symptoms to
gasoline/15% MTBE exposure.

Autonomic arousal (heart and respiration rate; end-tidal CO2) in
response to odor of chemical mixtures may mediate symptoms for subjects
with generalized chemical sensitivities, but not for those whose
sensitivities are confined to specific chemicals. For example, Gulf War
veterans with CFS/CS experienced reduced end-tidal CO2 when exposed to
diesel fumes, while exposure to MTBE did not produce any
psychophysiologic changes in MTBE-sensitive subjects.

Controlled olfactory and exposure studies reveal that significant
responses can be observed in chemically sensitive subjects even when
de-adaptation has not occurred. However, these studies suggest that
symptoms are not necessarily accompanied by changes in physiologic
arousal. Subject characteristics play a critical role in outcomes.
Publication Types: Review Review, Tutorial PMID: 12000025
*******

Am J Epidemiol 2001 Mar 15;153(6):604-9
Multiple chemical sensitivity and chronic fatigue syndrome in British
Gulf War veterans.
Reid S, Hotopf M, Hull L, Ismail K, Unwin C, Wessely S.
Academic Department of Psychiatry, Guy's King's and St. Thomas' School
of Medicine and Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom.

The objective of this study was to measure the prevalence of multiple
chemical sensitivity (MCS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in British
Gulf War veterans and to investigate their association with reported
exposures and psychologic morbidity.

In 1997--1998, the authors undertook a cross-sectional survey of three
cohorts of British military personnel comprising Gulf veterans (n =
3,531), those who had served in Bosnia (n = 2,050), and those serving
during the Gulf War but not deployed there (Era cohort, n = 2,614).

MCS and CFS were defined according to operational criteria. The
prevalence of MCS in the Gulf, Bosnia, and Era cohorts
was 1.3%, 0.3%, and 0.2%, respectively.

For CFS, the prevalence was
2.1% (Gulf cohort), 0.7% (Bosnia cohort), and 1.8% (Era cohort).

In Gulf veterans, MCS was strongly associated with exposure to
pesticides (adjusted odds ratio = 12.3, 95% confidence interval: 5.1,
30.0).

Both syndromes were associated with high levels of psychologic
morbidity. These findings suggest that CFS and MCS account for some of
the medically unexplained illnesses reported by veterans after
deployment to the Gulf. MCS was particularly associated with Gulf
deployment and self-reported exposure to pesticides, findings that merit
further exploration given the controversial status of this diagnosis and
the potential for recall bias in a questionnaire survey.
PMID: 11257069
************************************************************************

Subject: Re: [Quackbusters] testable theory of MCS type diseases,
vicious cycle of nitric oxide & peroxynitrite: MSG:
formaldehyde-methanol-aspartame: Martin L. Pall: Murray: 12.9.2
rmforall
Date: Mon, 09 Dec 2002 09:09:44 -0700
From: Richard Sullivan <richsul@...>
Reply-To: Quackbusters@yahoogroups.com
To: Quackbusters@yahoogroups.com

They missed the third and maybe most important one as this condition
appears to many researchers to be psychosomatic in origin. Study after
study has shown that the persons afflicted share many common
psychological disorders. Pall should be commended for his work in
seeking out a cause but the article makes no mention that the MCS or
Ideopathic Environmental Intolerance as it is technically known, is not
yet a clinically defined illness or syndrome. I think also that Murray
is also trying to make the leap from this rather slippery platform to
the even more slippery aspartame+formaldehyde one in one fell swoop. I
don't know what slippery + slippery equals but it is pretty slick.
*******

Psychol Med 2002 Nov;32(8):1387-94
Psychiatric and somatic disorders and multiple chemical sensitivity
(MCS) in 264 'environmental patients'.
Bornschein S, Hausteiner C, Zilker T, Forstl H.
Psychiatric Clinic and Department of Toxicology, I, Medical Clinic,
Technical University of Munich, Germany.

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of individuals with diverse health
complaints are currently seeking help in the field of environmental
medicine. Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) or idiopathic
environmental intolerances (IEI) is defined as an acquired disorder with
multiple recurrent symptoms associated with environmental chemicals in
low concentrations that are well tolerated by the majority of people.
Their symptoms are not explained by any known psychiatric or somatic
disorder.
METHOD: Within a 2-year period we examined 264 of 267 consecutive
patients prospectively presenting to a university based out-patient
department for environmental medicine. Patients underwent routine
medical examination, toxicological analysis and the structured clinical
interview for DSM-IV psychiatric disorders (SCID).
RESULTS: Seventy-five per cent of the patients met DSM-IV criteria for
at least one psychiatric disorder and 35% of all patients suffered from
somatoform disorders. Other frequent diagnoses were affective and
anxiety disorders, and dependence or substance abuse. In 39% a
psychiatric disorder, in 23% a somatic condition and in 19% a
combination of the two were considered to provide sufficient
explanation of the symptoms. Toxic chemicals were regarded as the most
probable cause in only five cases. The suspected diagnosis of MCS/IEI
could not be sustained in the vast majority of cases.
CONCLUSION: This investigation confirms previous findings that
psychiatric morbidity is high in patients presenting to specialized
centres for environmental medicine. Somatoform disorders are the leading
diagnostic category, and there is reason to believe that certain
'environmental' or MCS patients form a special subgroup of somatoform
disorders. In most cases, symptoms can be explained by well-defined
psychiatric and medical conditions other than MCS, which need specific
treatment. Further studies should focus on provocation testing in order
to find positive criteria for MCS and on therapeutic approaches that
consider psychiatric aspects.
*******

Environ Health Perspect 2002 Aug;110 Suppl 4:669-71
Responses to panic induction procedures in subjects with multiple
chemical sensitivity/idiopathic environmental intolerance: understanding
the relationship with panic disorder.
Tarlo SM, Poonai N, Binkley K, Antony MM, Swinson RP.
Gage Occupational and Environmental Health Unit, University of Toronto,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. susan.tarlo@...

Idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI), also known as multiple
chemical sensitivity, is a clinical description for a cluster of
symptoms of unknown etiology that have been attributed by patients to
multiple environmental exposures when other medical explanations have
been excluded. Because allergy has not been clearly demonstrated and
current toxicological paradigms for exposure-symptom relationships do
not readily accommodate IEI, psychogenic theories have been the focus of
a number of investigations. A significantly higher lifetime prevalence
of major depression, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and somatization
disorder has been reported among patients with environmental illness
compared with that in controls. Symptoms often include anxiety,
lightheadedness, impaired mentation, poor coordination, breathlessness
(without wheezing), tremor, and abdominal discomfort. Responses to
intravenous sodium lactate challenge or single-breath inhalation of 35%
carbon dioxide versus a similar breath inhalation of clean air have
shown a greater frequency of panic responses in subjects with IEI than
in control subjects, although such responses did not occur in all
subjects. Preliminary genetic findings suggest an increased frequency of
a common genotype with panic disorder patients. The panic responses in a
significant proportion of IEI patients opens a therapeutic window of
opportunity. Patients in whom panic responses may at least be a
contributing factor to their symptoms might be responsive to
intervention with psychotherapy to enable their desensitization or
deconditioning of responses to odors and other triggers, and/or may be
helped by anxiolytic medications, relaxation training, and counseling
for stress management.
*******

Minn Med 2002 Oct;85(10):33-6
Idiopathic environmental intolerances.
Hall SW.
Damarco Solutions LLC, Occupational Health Services for the Minneapolis
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis, USA.
Health concerns related to the quality of the environment in offices,
schools, homes, and residences have increased dramatically over the past
2 decades. One health problem frequently confronting medical
practitioners and often attributed to environmental quality problems is
idiopathic environmental intolerances (IEI). Formerly known as multiple
chemical sensitivities, IEI is an acquired disorder characterized by
adverse reactions attributed to exposure to a variety of substances
under ordinary conditions. Alleged precipitants include solvents,
pesticides, detergents, dusts, and fragrances. Symptoms include fatigue,
malaise, headache, concentration and memory difficulties,
lightheadedness, cough, hoarseness, and rhinitis without objective
physical signs or consistent laboratory abnormalities. The role of the
environment in precipitating these complaints continues to be
controversial, and no intervention or treatment has thus far been proven
to be effective. While not progressive or life threatening, IEI is often
functionally disabling and very distressing to affected individuals. The
investigation of IEI should involve, at a minimum, a clinical evaluation
of the affected person and in most cases an environmental evaluation as
well. IEI should be managed without overutilization of diagnostic tests
or prescription of unnecessary environmental, occupational, or dietary
restrictions.
*******

Toxicol Lett 2002 Mar 10;128(1-3):99-106
Is multiple chemical sensitivity a clinically defined entity?
Bolt HM, Kiesswetter E.
Institut fur Arbeitsphysiologie an der Universitat Dortmund (IfADo),
Ardeystr. 67, D-44139 Dortmund, Germany. bolt@...

In 1996 a WHO/IPCS Workshop has suggested to use as an appropriate
descriptor of MCS the broader term "Idiopathic Environmental
Intolerances (IEI)", in order to incorporate "a number of disorders
sharing similar symptomatologies". Research was strongly encouraged. The
following points have been put forward as a precondition to define MCS
as a clinical entity:
(a) establishment of diagnostic criteria,
(b) identification of pathogenic mechanisms, together with,
(c) an explanation of relationship between exposures and symptoms.
Against this background, progress made in the fields of sensory
physiology and neurobehaviour research must be debated. In particular,
recent results on processing of cognitive stimuli have to be considered.
IEI/MCS patients exhibited differences vs. controls in their reactions
to intranasal challenge, consistent with changes in cognitive processing
of suprathreshold chemosensory information. Trait anxiety and focus of
attention have clearly been identified as major components in eliciting
neurobehavioural MCS symptoms. Hence, the question as to whether MCS
should be regarded as a clinically defined entity remains controversial,
but important progress can be noticed in elucidating and defining the
nature of this phenomenon, by a combined effort of several disciplines
(toxicology and behavioural toxicology, psychology and psychophysiology,
and clinical medicine). The new situation will call for a re-evaluation
of traditional positions.

--Dick

At 02:56 AM 12/9/2002 -0700, you wrote:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/909
testable theory of MCS type diseases, vicious cycle of nitric oxide &
peroxynitrite: MSG: formaldehyde-methanol-aspartame:
Martin L. Pall: Murray: 12.9.2 rmforall
************************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/912
aspartame: methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid toxicity:
brief review: Murray 12.11.2 rmforall

Rich Murray, MA Room For All rmforall@...
1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 USA 505-986-9103

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages
for 913 posts in a public searchable archive

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/862 long review

Confirming evidence and a general theory are given by Pall (2002):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/909
testable theory of MCS type diseases, vicious cycle of nitric oxide &
peroxynitrite: MSG: formaldehyde-methanol-aspartame:
Martin L. Pall: Murray: 12.9.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/910
formaldehyde & formic acid from methanol in aspartame:
Murray: 12.9.2 rmforall

It is certain that high levels of aspartame use, above 2 liters daily
for months and years, must lead to chronic formaldehyde-formic acid
toxicity, since 11% of aspartame (1,120 mg in 2L diet soda, 5.6 12-oz
cans) is 123 mg methanol (wood alcohol), immediately released into the
body after drinking (unlike the large levels of methanol locked up in
molecules inside many fruits), then quickly transformed into
formaldehyde, which in turn becomes formic acid, both of which in
time become carbon dioxide and water-- however, about 30% of the
methanol remains in the body as cumulative durable toxic metabolites of
formaldehyde and formic acid-- 37 mg daily, a gram every month.
If 10% of the methanol is retained as formaldehyde, that would give 12
mg daily formaldehyde accumulation, about 60 times more than the 0.2 mg
from 10% retention of the 2 mg EPA daily limit for formaldehyde in
drinking water.

Bear in mind that the EPA limit for formaldehyde in
drinking water is 1 ppm,
or 2 mg daily for a typical daily consumption of 2 L of water.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/835
RTM: ATSDR: EPA limit 1 ppm formaldehyde in drinking water July 1999
5.30.2 rmforall

This long-term low-level chronic toxic exposure leads to typical
patterns of increasingly severe complex symptoms, starting with
headache, fatigue, joint pain, irritability, memory loss, and leading to
vision and eye problems and even seizures. In many cases there is
addiction. Probably there are immune system disorders, with a
hypersensitivity to these toxins and other chemicals.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/860
RTM: FDA: objections to neotame approval 8.3.2 rmforall 38 pages

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/868
Murray: submit complaints and papers to FDA Docket 02P-0317
by Jan 12 2003: Recall Aspartame as a Neurotoxic Drug 9.20.2 rmforall

http://www.dorway.com/tldaddic.html 5-page review
Roberts HJ Aspartame (NutraSweet) addiction.
Townsend Letter 2000 Jan; HJRobertsMD@...
http://www.sunsentpress.com/ sunsentpress@...
Sunshine Sentinel Press P.O.Box 17799 West Palm Beach, FL 33416
800-814-9800 561-588-7628 561-547-8008 fax

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/669
1038-page medical text "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic"
published May 30 2001 $ 85.00 postpaid data from 1200 cases
available at http://www.amazon.com
over 600 references from standard medical research
http://www.aspartameispoison.com/contents.html 34 chapters

Roberts, Hyman J., 1924- ,
Useful insights for diagnosis, treatment and public heath: an updated
anthology of original research, 2002, 798 pages,
Palm Beach Institute for Medical Research, Inc.
P.O. Box 17799, West Palm Beach, FL 33416
fax 561-547-8008 dr.roberts@...
aspartame disease pages 627-685, 778-780 .

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/859
RTM: Roberts: the life work of a brilliant clinician:
aspartame toxicity 8.2.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/790
RTM: Moseley:
review Roberts "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic" 2.7.2 rmforall
************************************************************************