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Pesticides and Panic Attacks
by S. Suzanne Fisher
The same symptoms that are identified by treatment professionals as Panic Disorder are among the myriad symptoms found in pesticide poisoning. Cholinesterase inhibiting pesticides impair the autonomic nervous system, leading to a wide variety of physical problems that may look like, among other things, Panic Disorder. This often leads to improper diagnoses and potentially dangerous treatments.
The Autonomic Nervous System starts in a region of the brain called the Hypothalamus. The autonomic nervous system controls the functions of the body's internal organs. The purpose of the body's interior organs is to maintain a constant internal environment.
The Autonomic Nervous System regulates the following organs: heart, lungs, blood vessels, liver, fat depots, exocrine glands, the gastrointestinal tract, adrenal medulla, kidney, ureter, bladder, sex organs, skin, eyes etc. It also controls the following functions: heart rate, blood pressure, regional blood flow, breathing, cellular metabolism, gastrointestinal motility, secretion of exocrine glands, body temperature, emptying of hollow viscera etc. - in short, housekeeping chores within the body. These functions are usually involuntary.
Autonomic reflexes are initiated by stimuli. For example, the smell of food causes salivation and secretion of digestive juices. Many autonomic reflexes involve negative feedback that causes the our bodies to make appropriate adjustments to adapt to or leave the environment. An example of this is the "fight or flight response." Emotion can have a great influence on autonomic functions.
The autonomic nervous system is comprised of a central portion that lies within the central nervous system and a peripheral portion. The main autonomic centers are in the hypothalamus from which tracts of efferent fibers (nerves) descend throughout the body. The autonomic nervous system is divided into three parts: the sympathetic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, and the enteric nervous system.
The autonomic nervous system governs muscles
· in the skin (around hair follicles; smooth muscle)
· around blood vessels (smooth muscle)
· in the eye (the iris; smooth muscle)
· in the stomach, intestines and bladder (smooth muscle)
· of the heart (cardiac muscle).
The sympathetic nervous system is called into action for "fight or flight" situations. It originates in the spinal cord, and uses predominantly acetylcholine to carry out its functions. The parasympathetic nervous system, which also utilizes acetylcholine to send messages, comes into play during relaxation and digestion. When we relax, the parasympathetic nervous system works to save energy - our blood pressure decreases, our heart beats more slowly, and our digestive processes start. The enteric nervous system is a meshwork of nerve fibers that inspire the gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, and gall bladder to do their jobs.
As you can see, acetylcholine (ACh) is a vitally important neurotransmitter for all autonomic nervous system transmissions. Simply put, acetylcholine is the neurotransmitter that allows messages to travel throughout our bodies via our autonomic nervous system. Acetylcholine (ACh) is synthesized in the body from acetyl-CoA and Choline. Acetyl-CoA is produced from fats and sugars. Choline comes from the following foods: egg yolks, lecithin, legumes, meat, milk, soybeans, and whole-grain foods.
The following physical symptoms may result from a disorder of the autonomic nervous system: tingling or burning hands and feet, feverish or flushed feeling, blurred vision, dizziness or lightheadedness, a feeling of choking, heart pounding, shortness of breath, nausea, faintness, excessive sweating, ringing or buzzing in the ears, or feeling excessively hot or cold.
Common symptoms of a panic attack include: increased heart rate, dizziness or lightheadedness, shortness of breath, inability to concentrate, and confusion. Some persons having panic attacks also experience a feverish or flushed feeling, blurred vision, dizziness, a feeling of choking, shortness of breath, excessive sweating, nausea, and ear disturbances. Because of the similarity in symptoms, many persons suffering from chemical injury from pesticides or other neurotoxins are falsely diagnosed as suffering from panic attacks.
Pesticides cause damage to the autonomic nervous system by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase. Acetylcholinesterase is an enzyme in nervous tissue, muscles and red blood cells that causes the neurotransmitter acetylcholine to break down into parts that can be readily excreted. The accumulation of in the body of acetylcholine causes over-stimulation of acetylcholine receptor sites in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. High acetylcholine in the brain causes sensory and behavioral disturbances, poor coordination, depressed cognition and depressed respiration.
Pesticides act as irreversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitors by binding cholinesterase so that the enzyme cannot do its job. This causes a build up or over-accumulation of acetylcholine. Too much acetylcholine causes one or more of the following symptoms resembling a panic attack to develop: tingling or burning hands and feet, feverish or flushed feeling, blurred vision, dizziness or lightheadedness, a feeling of choking, heart pounding, shortness of breath, nausea, faintness, excessive sweating, ringing or buzzing in the ears, or feeling excessively hot or cold.
Paraoxonase, a member of the A-oxonzse family, is an enzyme that breaks down acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as pesticides before they bind to the cholinesterases, thus affording the human body some protection from pesticides. However, not all people have the same levels of these oxonases. People whose bodies produce less of this enzyme are at higher risk of pesticide poisoning in environments where pesticides are used.
As you can easily see, Panic Disorder symptoms may result from overexposure to pesticides that damage the autonomic nervous system. With the wide variety and abundance of pesticides and neurotoxic petrochemicals in use in our society today, environmental exposures are an outstandingly likely cause of panic attacks.
Therefore, it is faulty reasoning to suppose that the behavioral modification techniques used to correct Panic Disorder are useful for persons suffering from chemical injury just because the symptoms of pesticide exposure emulate those of panic attacks. Most of the behavioral modification techniques used in Panic Disorder require re-exposing oneself to situations in which panic occurred for desensitization purposes. This re-exposure could easily result in further damage to the autonomic nervous system if the initial panic attacks are the result of environmental exposures.
Recent research studies using a very small group of participants have determined that persons with MCS are biochemically similar to persons with Panic Disorder. The creators of these studies need to look further to determine whether their research participants who are biochemically similar share other commonalities such as a history of exposure to pesticides. Merely concluding that if persons with Panic Disorder have a certain chemical marker in their blood and persons with MCS have the same marker, then MCS equals Panic Disorder is very faulty reasoning.
That is much like saying that because a cat has whiskers and a dog has whiskers that a cat is a dog or vice versa.
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