Diminished brain resilience syndrome 2

“Roundup-Ready” Alzheimer’s disease – coming to a family near YOU

The rates of AD have steadily climbed during the past decade and beyond. In fact, as illustrated in chart below, there is a remarkably strong correlation between the amount of glyphosate (Roundup) used on corn and soy crops in the US and the rising death rates due to AD. (Note: The discontinuity between 1998 and 1999 may be partially due to an ICD code change at that time.) This is also correlated with the percent of the

corn and soy crop that is engineered to be “Roundup-Ready.” Since Alzheimer’s is related to PCS via amyloid-β production, it is plausible that glyphosate, perhaps through its ability to promote aluminum uptake, could be an important factor in the increase in this condition as well.

Microglia and astrocytes (types of glial cells in the brain) are primary sources of immune cytokines and glutamate in the brain and are material factors in immunoexcitotoxity (we could say, ‘brain poisoning’). Evidence is compelling and significant that aluminum exposure increases both of these compounds in the brain. Aluminum is shown to be a catalyst that can induce ‘brain poisoning’ through a mechanism, likely involving the increase in immune chemicals like TNF-α, which triggers the release of glutamate in the presence of aluminum.

A critical discovery of synergistic effects in relation to immunoexcitatoxicity is also well documented throughout Dr. Blaylock’s work. There is indisputable evidence that toxic compounds such as glutamate (MSG compounds) and aluminum on their own may not cause excessive neurological injury per se, but in combination become fully neurotoxic, leading to excitotoxic lesions that are strong precursors for AD.

It’s not just the elderly that need to be concerned. Illumination of this significant risk has profound implications to concussions – a growing concern in recent research. The addition to an increased level of “acceptable” and often unavoidable environmental  compounds combined with trauma is a deadly combination.

Aluminum toxicity is a well-documented cause of encephalopathy, and aluminum, which is present in antiperspirants, high-sun protection factor (SPF) sunscreens, and antacids, bioaccumulates in the brain. In an analysis of aluminum content in various brain tissues postmortem, aluminum was found to exist in at least twice as high a concentration in the pineal gland compared with any other tissues examined, including the pituitary gland, the cortex, and the cerebellum. Aluminum toxicity is also a well-established factor in the pathology of AD.

Aluminum toxicity in the liver leads to a disruption of mitochondrial energy production, a switch to anaerobic metabolism in hepatocytes, the production of excessive amounts of α-ketoglutarate by the liver, and the development of fatty liver. Since severe liver pathology, such as liver failure or hepatitis C infection, is associated with encephalitis and cognitive decline, it is easy to imagine that chronic liver disease induced by aluminum could contribute to impaired ability to recover from brain trauma, even in children and young adults.

Dietary sources are undoubtedly the biggest contributor to aluminum exposure, but biological mechanisms normally exist to keep all but small amounts of the aluminum from penetrating past the gut barrier. However, citrate is known to facilitate the absorption of aluminum, through its ability to cage aluminum via chelation.

Glyphosate (Roundup) also cages aluminum through an analogous chemical reaction, and this would be expected to also promote the absorption of aluminum, in the same way. Thus, one of the more alarming possibilities that seems plausible given basic biochemistry is the idea that glyphosate facilitates the penetration of aluminum across BOTH the gut and brain barriers. Glyphosate also disrupts beneficial gut bacteria, leading to inflammatory bowel disease and leaky gut, which would further enhance aluminum penetration. Since a common treatment for acid indigestion is an aluminum-containing antacid, there would be a ready supply of aluminum consequential to treatment for the gut dysbiosis induced by glyphosate.