Close X
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Common antibacterial in soap may harm liver

Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Nov, 2014 11:37 AM
    Long-term exposure to triclosan, found in soaps, shampoos, toothpastes and many other household items, may cause liver fibrosis and cancer, an alarming study suggests.
     
    "Triclosan's increasing detection in environmental samples and its increasingly broad use in consumer products may overcome its moderate benefit and present a very real risk of liver toxicity for people, as it does in mice," said Robert Tukey, professor at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.
     
    The risk is particularly high when triclosan is combined with other compounds with similar action, Tukey noted.
     
    The researchers found that triclosan disrupted liver integrity and compromised liver function in mouse models.
     
    Mice exposed to triclosan for six months (roughly equivalent to 18 human years) were more susceptible to chemical-induced liver tumours. Their tumours were also larger and more frequent than in mice not exposed to triclosan.
     
    The study suggests triclosan may do its damage by interfering with the constitutive androstane receptor, a protein responsible for detoxifying (clearing away) foreign chemicals in the body.
     
    To compensate for this stress, liver cells proliferate and turn fibrotic over time. Repeated triclosan exposure and continued liver fibrosis eventually promote tumour formation.
     
    Triclosan is perhaps the most ubiquitous consumer antibacterial. Studies have found traces in 97 percent of breast milk samples from lactating women and in the urine of nearly 75 percent of people tested.
     
    The study appeared in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Canada To Do Clinical Trial Of Ebola Vaccine, Far Away From Ebola Researchers

    Canada To Do Clinical Trial Of Ebola Vaccine, Far Away From Ebola Researchers
    TORONTO — A clinical trial of the made-in-Canada Ebola vaccine will be conducted in this country, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada announced Friday.

    Canada To Do Clinical Trial Of Ebola Vaccine, Far Away From Ebola Researchers

    Sloppy Contact Lens Use Is Driving More 1 Million Eye Infections Each Year

    Sloppy Contact Lens Use Is Driving More 1 Million Eye Infections Each Year
    NEW YORK — A new government report says sloppy care of contact lenses is a main reason for hundreds of thousands of eye infections each year.

    Sloppy Contact Lens Use Is Driving More 1 Million Eye Infections Each Year

    Phone use may lead to brain cancer

    Phone use may lead to brain cancer
    The longer someone talks over the phone - in terms of hours and years - the more likely is he/she to develop glioma, a deadly form of brain cancer, says a new study....

    Phone use may lead to brain cancer

    Artificial retina could help restore vision of elderly

    Artificial retina could help restore vision of elderly
    A team of researchers has created a wireless and light-sensitive, flexible film that could potentially substitute a damaged retina....

    Artificial retina could help restore vision of elderly

    Flawed gene may curb heart attack risk by half

    Flawed gene may curb heart attack risk by half
    Rare mutations that shut down a single gene called NPC1L1 are linked to lower cholesterol levels and a 50 percent reduction in the risk of heart attack, says an Indian-origin cardiologist....

    Flawed gene may curb heart attack risk by half

    Vitamin B doesn't stem memory loss

    Vitamin B doesn't stem memory loss
    A day before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Brisbane for the G20 summit, Australia is waiting anxiously for the Indian Prime Minister's overdue visit to commence....

    Vitamin B doesn't stem memory loss