My New Year's resolution to reduce my Alzheimer's risk in 2004 will be the same as it has been for the past 13 years: I will not use aluminum-containing antiperspirants. It is quite remarkable that an epidemiological study published in 1990 with stunning statistical significance (p = 0.009 for the trend and an odds ratio of 11.7 for high frequency users) has identified aluminum-containing antiperspirants as a potential risk factor but that no follow-up studies have ever been performed to corroborate or refute the findings. I have a pragmatic philosophy regarding these products. I may be more odoriferous than those who apply them but after a while they won’t remember how I smelled.

References:
Graves et al. The association between aluminum-containing products and Alzheimer’s disease. J Clin Epidemiol. 1990;43(1):35-44.

View all comments by Colin Meyer

When you get older, use your brain. Because if you do not, you may meet the devil, and the devil's name is Alzheimer. (I will be 79 in April.)

View all comments by Gregor Riesser

The fact that people involved in the Alzheimer conundrum can keep their sanity by having polls that suggest additional sex will help beat the old devil gives me great hope for the future! As for myself, I chose 'other' because there is no way that we can reach nirvana sans AD unless people like you keep us on track. Kudos to all! A fanatic follower, approaching 75! Phyllis O'Hara

View all comments by Phyllis O'Hara

Perhaps we should avoid deodorants AND anti-perspirants: Research Raises Cancer Concerns Over Deodorants Mon Jan 12, 8:42 AM ET LONDON (Reuters) - Chemicals found in underarm deodorants have been detected in the tumors of breast cancer sufferers, British scientists said Monday. Researchers at the University of Reading found traces of the chemicals called parabens in tissue samples, proving that the preservatives can accumulate inside the body, although a direct link with breast cancer has not been proven. "Their detection in human breast tumors is of concern since parabens have been shown to mimic the action of the female hormone estrogen, and estrogen can drive the growth of human breast tumors," Dr. Philippa Darbre, lead author of the study, said in a statement. "It would therefore seem especially prudent to consider whether parabens should continue to be used in such a wide variety of cosmetics applied to the breast area," she added. But Dr. Philip Harvey, European editor of the Journal of Applied Toxicology, which published the research, stressed the need for...  Read more

Perhaps we should avoid deodorants AND anti-perspirants: Research Raises Cancer Concerns Over Deodorants Mon Jan 12, 8:42 AM ET LONDON (Reuters) - Chemicals found in underarm deodorants have been detected in the tumors of breast cancer sufferers, British scientists said Monday. Researchers at the University of Reading found traces of the chemicals called parabens in tissue samples, proving that the preservatives can accumulate inside the body, although a direct link with breast cancer has not been proven. "Their detection in human breast tumors is of concern since parabens have been shown to mimic the action of the female hormone estrogen, and estrogen can drive the growth of human breast tumors," Dr. Philippa Darbre, lead author of the study, said in a statement. "It would therefore seem especially prudent to consider whether parabens should continue to be used in such a wide variety of cosmetics applied to the breast area," she added. But Dr. Philip Harvey, European editor of the Journal of Applied Toxicology, which published the research, stressed the need for more investigation. "Further work is required to examine any association between estrogenic, and other, chemicals in underarm cosmetics and breast cancer," he said. Despite previous suggestions that chemicals in deodorants and anti-perspirants may be adding to a rising incidence of breast cancer, charities stress that no evidence exists to support any link. "Breast cancer is a complex disease and we do not yet understand all its causes," said Delyth Morgan, Chief Executive of breast cancer charity Breakthrough. "There has been a lot of discussion surrounding a link between anti-perspirants and the disease but there is still no scientific evidence of a causal link," she added. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, with one in nine UK women likely to develop the disease at some time in their life.

View all comments by Colin Meyer