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Pittsburgh/Washington (pte042/06.12.2004/17:00) - A common chemical found in shampoo and hand lotions may damage the developing nervous system, researchers say, As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, methylisothiazolinone (MIT) can affect the growth of parts of developing nerve cells which help them communicate with their neighbours. The work, by a team at the University of Pittsburgh, was carried out on rats, but researchers are concerned about its potential effect on human foetuses. This has provoked concern from other scientists, who are worried that such assertions may create unnecessary panic.
MIT is used to kill harmful bacteria that are found near moisture or water. It is often used in hand creams, shampoos and other cosmetics, but also in water cooling systems and in factories which need water for manufacturing. Earlier safety tests had revealed that the chemical may cause a slight skin irritation in susceptible people. However, researcher Elias Aizenman, a neurobiologist at the University of Pittsburgh said that he could not find any information about the chemical's impact on developing nerve cells. Therefore, Aizenman and his team have been studying how the chemical affects neurons taken from the brains of rat embryos. In preliminary research, relatively large doses of MIT killed most of the neurones within ten minutes. Further tests with lower doses of a micromolar (equivalent to 1 gram of the compound dissolved in more than 8,000 litres of water) still resulted in reduced growth of the cells.
"While more research is needed to determine what effect MIT would have in rodent models, both at the cellular model and to a developing nervous system, our results thus far suggest there is a potential that everyday exposure to the chemical could also be harmful to humans," said Aizenman. "I would be particularly concerned about occupational exposure in pregnant women and the possibility of risk to the foetus."
However, Eizenman's experiments has also provoked anger amongst other researchers. "Extrapolating from that kind of tissue culture to human beings is scientifically dangerous," argued Tony Dayan, a retired toxicologist who used to work at Queen Mary, University of London. According to Dayan, a change in neutron growth is not so surprising, given that the cells used in "in vitro" studies like the ones carried out by Aizenman are so exposed and vulnerable. Wilson Steele, a toxicologist at the University of East London, believes it is extremely difficult to go from "in vitro" studies to hazards in human beings, because human beings are more complicated. Steele did, however, advocate further tests on the compound.
According to Aizenman, however, the study does reveal a potential risk. Shampoos contain concentrations of MIT between 100 and 200 times greater that in his experiment. "I just can't say for sure what this chemical affects," said Aizenman. "But there's very little information around about what these compounds are doing, and I'm concerned the appropriate testing hasn't been done."
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