Seizures and Aluminum

Excerpt from the book by Dennis N Crouse, PhD titled 'Silica Water, the Secret of  Healthy Blue Zone Longevity in the Aluminum Age'   This book is available on Amazon. 

Seizures

Epilepsy is a condition in which seizures occur on a repeated basis. Seizures occur in the brain when too many nerve cells “fire” too quickly creating what has been referred to as an “electrical storm”.  There are over 40 different types of seizures.  Symptoms can either include convulsions, such as in tonic-clonic (a.k.a. grand mal) seizures, or no convulsions, such as in absence (a.k.a. petit mal) seizures. Other symptoms of seizures include: confusion, fainting, blackouts, blank staring, sudden and unexplained falls, episodes of blinking and chewing at inappropriate times.

The highest incidence rates of epilepsy have been reported in children particularly in the first few years of life³⁷¹. Currently the worldwide annual incidence rate of epilepsy is 68 per 100,000 people and in the U.S. the annual incidence rate is 35.5-38.6 per 100,000 people³⁷².  The Epilepsy Foundation estimates there are 326,000 children in the U.S. who have been diagnosed with epilepsy making it the 4^th most prevalent neurological disease. Epilepsy not only lowers the quality of life of those who suffer its symptoms but also has a negative impact on their longevity. Two recent studies in Nova Scotia and the Netherlands have found that children with epilepsy are 5 to 9 times more likely to die than healthy children^373-374.             

It is well known that aluminum causes seizures in monkeys and humans:   In 1954 it was reported that three months after aluminum hydroxide is injected in the brains of rhesus (macaca mulatta) monkeys, chronic epileptic seizures are observed in the monkeys that by EEG correlate with those in humans³⁷¹.  In 1978 chronic temporal lobe seizures were induced in 11 monkeys with bilateral implantation of aluminum hydroxide in their hippocampi³⁷². The hippocampus is a known hotspot for aluminum accumulation²⁶⁶.  In 1982 chronic absence seizures (a.k.a. petit mal epilepsy) were induced in juvenile rhesus monkeys with bilateral implantation of aluminum hydroxide in their thalami³⁷³.  Aluminum induced chronic epileptic seizures in monkeys have been shown to spontaneously continue for at least 7 years³⁷⁴.

Aluminum encephalopathy is a neurological condition usually occurring in humans undergoing regular dialysis treatment due to aluminum accumulation in the brain³⁷⁵. Epileptic seizures are observed in 57% of those diagnosed with aluminum encephalopathy³⁷⁶.  Dialysis-associated seizures were seen in 7.2% of 180 children and adolescents on regular dialysis treatment³⁷⁷.   Seizures have also been observed after 6 months of occupational exposure to aluminum and 36 to 42 days after the use of aluminum containing bone cement during brain surgery^378,379.  Serum aluminum concentration is normally less than 1mcg/L but in the case of the occupational aluminum exposure, serum concentration was 22mcg/L and in the cases of exposure to aluminum containing bone cement it was 4.4 to 4.3mcg/L^378,379.  

371.        Kopeloff, L.M., et al.; Chronic experimental epilepsy in Macaca mulatta; Neuology, 4:218-227 (1954)

372.        Soper, V., et al.; Chronic alumina temporal lobe seizures in monkeys; Exp. Neurology; Oct.; 62(1):99-121 (1978)

373.        David, J., et al.; Behavioral and electrical correlates of absence seizures induced by thalamic stimulation in juvenile rhesus monkeys with frontal aluminum hydroxide implants: A pharmacologic evaluation; J. Pharmacological Methods; May; 7(3):219-229 (1982)

374.        Ward, A.A.; Topical convulsant metals. In: Experimental models of epilepsy. A manual for the laboratory worker, eds. D.P. Purpura, et al.; pp.13-35 New York: Raven Press (1972)  

375.        Alfey, A.C.; Aluminum toxicity in patients with chronic renal failure; Ther. Drug Monit.; 15:593-97 (1993) 

376.        Elger, C.E., et al.; Therapeutic problems in patients suffering from aluminum encephalopathy; Neuroimmunologie spinale krankenheiten neuropsychologie metalische enzephalopathien neurologische notfalle interventionelle neuroradiologie verhandlungen der deutschen gesellschaft fur neurologie; 4; K. Poeck, et al. editors; Springer (1987)

377.        Glenn, C.M., et al.; Dialysis-associated seizures in children and adolescents; Pediatr. Nephrol.; 6(2):182 (1992)

378.        Freiman, S.B., et al.; Seizure and elevated blood aluminum in a remelt furnace operator: connection of coincidence?; Am. J. Emergency Med.; May; 23(3):419-20 (2005)

379.        Hantson, P.H., et al.; Encephalopathy with seizures after use of aluminum-containing bone cement; The Lancet; Dec.; 344:1647 (1994)

as 4.4 to 4.3mcg/L^378,379.