> If you've been exposed to PCBs or dioxin, you may also want to ask
> your doctor to add more frequent tests for diabetes to what he or she
> recommends for you.
Since PCBs and dioxin are highly lipophilic, they tend to be stored in
fatty tissues (including nervous system). Among other problems, these
toxins cause inflammation and interfere with body fat's ability to
control blood sugar. I was exposed to dioxin (and possibly PCBs,
dieldrin and toxaphene from fish) over 8 years ago and its effects
still linger. During a number of years, I was semi diabetic. Dioxin
has a half life of approx 9 years in the human body. See related
pubmed article below:
Physiol Res. 2007; Epub 2006 Aug 22.
White adipose tissue: storage and effector site for environmental
pollutants.
White adipose tissue (WAT) represents a reservoir of lipophilic
environmental pollutants, especially of those which are resistant to
biological and chemical degradation - so-called persistent organic
pollutants (POPs). Large amounts of different congeners and isomers of
these compounds exhibit a variety of adverse biological effects.
Interactions among different cl***** of compounds, frequently with
opposing effects, complicate hazard evaluation and risk *****sment.
WAT is the key organ for energy homeostasis and it also releases
metabolites into the circulation and adipokines with systemic effects
on insulin sensitivity and fuel partitioning in muscles and other
tissues. Its beneficial role is lost in obesity when excessive
ac***ulation of WAT contributes to severe diseases, such as diabetes.
POPs may crossroad or modulate the effect of endogenous ligands of
nuclear transcription factors, participating in differentiation,
metabolism and the secretory function of adipocytes. These mechanisms
include, most im****tantly: i) endocrine disrupting potency of POPs
mixtures on androgen, estrogen or thyroid hormone metabolism/functions
in WAT, ii) interference of dioxin-like chemicals with retinoic acid
homeostasis, where impact on retinoid receptors is expected, and iii)
interaction with transcriptional activity of peroxisome proliferator-
activated receptors is likely. Thus, the ac***ulation and action of
POPs in WAT represents a unitary mechanism explaining, at least in
part, the effects of POPs in the whole organism. By modulating WAT
differentiation, metabolism and function, the POPs could affect not
only the physiological role of WAT, but they may also influence the
development of obesity-associated diseases. PMID: 16925464
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