Calls to monitor health of residents
In the UK the death of Carole Cross in 2004 has sparked calls for wider health checks over the possible effects of aluminium as a cause of Alzheimer's disease. Carole Cross lived in an area of Cornwall that had accidentally had its water supply contaminated with aluminium sulphate.
Carole died from a rare form of Alzheimer's. The condition was a form of early-onset beta amyloid angiopathy, characterised by the deposition of a protein called beta amyloid in the brain’s blood vessels. During autopsy very high levels of aluminium were found in the brain. Analysis showed aluminium levels in her brain of 23 micrograms per gram of brain. Normal brain levels range from 0 to 2 micrograms per gram.
During 1998, then aged 44, Carole Cross was exposed over a number of weeks to high concentrations of aluminium in her drinking water. Fifteen years later in May 2003 her mental state had deteriorated and she died in April 2004. The accident exposed around 20,000 people to levels of aluminium up to 3,000 times the acceptable limit as defined by the European Union. A Parliamentary investigating committee is due to meet again in a couple of months, but no date has been given for the publication of the final report.
The relationship between aluminium and the onset of Alzheimer's has never been fully understood as to whether it is a cause or a possible effect of Alzheimer's. As people get older the levels of aluminium in the brain increase naturally. Although this appears to be a one-off case health officals remain vigilant. A further case could be very important in understanding the relationship between aluminium and Alzheimer's and will be certain to highten concerns amongst the affected population.
Article Source: J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry published online 20 Apr 2006; C Exley and M M Esiri Severe cerebral congophilic angiopathy coincident with increased brain aluminium in a resident of Camelford, Cornwall, UK
