TOXIC MOLDS AND

MYCOTOXINS

APRIL 18, 2007

 Current Situation
• People are fleeing their homes and even having
them destroyed
– Family in Oregon had home burned to ground (ABC
news, Nov 29, 2006; O’Hara home
– Hawaiian Village Hotel, Waikiki shut down one tower
(Honolulu Advertiser, July 25, 2002)
– Leaving trendy Park Ave. apts. In NYC (Bianca
Jagger, ABC News, Sept 6, 2006)
– Schools and offices
– Many more
 What is Toxic Mold?

• Molds are fungi that can come in an array

of species
– They reproduce by releasing tiny spores that
continually travel through indoor and outdoor
air.
– Mold lands on wet or damp areas and begins
to grow and digest the material on which it
rests.
 When mold grows:
• Mold growth poses particular problems for
humans in that some species of mold cause
adverse health affects.
• Mold spores produce toxic substances, or fungal
metabolites, called mycotoxins which are known
to have serious health affects on humans.
• Mycotoxins enter the body through inhalation or
contact with the skin.
• Mycotoxin producing mold is commonly referred
to as toxic mold.
Stachybotrys-
 Black Mold
• The most well known and studied toxic mold is
Stachybotrys chartarum.
• Stachybotrys, also known as “black mold”, is considered
the most dangerous toxic mold.
• Black mold is thought of as the most dangerous toxic
mold because of its ability to release chemicals known
as “macrocyclic tricothecenes and immunotoxins.”
• With their toxic and immune-suppressing capabilities,
tricothecenes are allegedly responsible for severe
medical complications in some individuals including
neurological and cardiopulmonary disorders.
 Currently
• After hurricane Katrina, CDC issued new
revised warnings as to health effects of
toxic mold exposure.
– All associated with respiratory effects
– Can be linked with Amer. Acad. Of Ped
Committee on Enviro Health, Toxic Effects of
Indoor Mold (Pediatrics, 1998)
 UNHEALTHY SYMPTOMS
Micro Fungi/Damp Buildings

• General/CNS • Mucosal Symptoms

Symptoms – Blocked nose
– Extreme fatigue – Itching eyes
– Memory/concentration – Skin: burning
loss sensation
– Chronic/recurrent – Hoarseness
nausea – Chronic airway
– Lowered immune infection i.e.,
function sinusitis
 Federal Level
• Michigan Representative John Conyers, Jr. introduced a bill, House Bills
HR 1268, 1269, (MELINA BILL) 5040, providing national guidelines
for mold inspection and remediation.
– The bill called for:
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) to:
– study the health effects of mold growth and establish standards
of acceptable levels of mold. House Bill 5040 did not get past
the introduction level and the same bill was reintroduced to
Congress on March 13, 2003 as House Bill 1268, only to
receive the same fate
– Currently, there is no federal legislation setting guidelines
for mold inspection and remediation.
• The introduction of toxic mold legislation on both the state and federal
level and the release of federal administrative guidelines, suggests a
realization among government officials that mold is indeed a threat to
human health.
[
Aspergillus Niger
DNA Testing for Black Mold Evaluation
Now in Human Fixed Tissue and Paraffin Blocked Tissue and Body
Fluids

Using RT-PCR (Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction) Studies

Aspergillus sp.
Penicillium sp.
Stachybotrys sp.
Fusarium sp.

Mycotoxin Presence in Tissue and Pathology

Specimens
•Aflatoxins
•Tricothecenes
•Ochratoxins

Performed in a CLIA certified Clinical Lab

 Case Study 1
• Brain Tumor of a 6 year old female
• Surgical DX: Pilocytic Astrocytoma
– (Grade 1-2)

• RT-PCR: Negative for 23 probes

• Mycotoxins:
– Tricothecenes: 0.37 ppb
– Aflatoxins: 3.0 ppb
– Ochratoxins: 0.37
 Case Study 2
• Lung Biopsy of a 38 year old male.
• DX: Wedge Resection: Beth Israel Med Center:
Severe Interstitial fibrosis (UIP) Pulmonary
Fibrosis
• Patient on Oxygen
• Placed on Lung Transplant list in Boston
• All cultures negative
• DNA by RT-PCR negative
• Aflatoxin: 4 ppb
• Documented previously in the literature in J.
Toxicol Environ Health: 1986 (Dvorackova et al).
 Other Interesting Cases
• 56 y.o male, Las Vegas, NV, exposed to
Stachybotrys chartarum, Asp. Niger, and
Penicillium sp. (verified by Environmental
studies).
– RT-Lab: Skin Biopsy:
– Positive for Sta. chartarum, Asp. Niger
– Positive for Aflatoxin 4 ppb, Negative for
Tricothecenes (macrocyclics).
• Multiple patients with history of DX ALS (a r/o
diagnosis).
 PRESENT SITUATION
• MOLDS AND MYCOTOXINS HAVE
BEEN FOUND IN PATIENTS WITH
SYMPTOMS
• MANY PROBLEMS OCCUR IN THE U.S.
WITH MOLDS AND MYCOTOXINS
– US POST OFFICES
– SCHOOLS
– MILITARY HOSPITALS
– VA HOSPITALS
– FAA TOWERS IN > 16 AIRPORTS IN U.S.
 PRESENT SITUATION – II

• LINKS TO CAUSATION NOW CAN BE

SHOWN
– DNA FROM MOLDS AND MYCOTOXINS
FROM MOLDS IN HOUSE = DNA FROM
MOLDS AND MYCOTOXINS IN BODY OF
HUMANS AND ANIMALS
 DOUG HANEY
• Latency in Vietnam Veterans
• 1962 Study of molds dealing with
equipments, vehicles, utencils, foods, and
humans
• No disclosure to veterans as to type of
molds and latent type of
diseases/infectious processess
 UNHEALTHY SYMPTOMS
Micro Fungi/Damp Buildings
• Lung Symptoms
– Wheezing
– Cough
– Bronchitis
– Asthma
– Hypersensitivity
Pneumonitis
– Toxic Pneumonitis
– Lung:
Aspergilloma/Fungal
Granuloma
– (Source: UCSF, Dept.
of Pathology. 2006)
 CEREBRAL INVASIVE ASPERGILLOSIS

• “Cerebral invasive
aspergillosis is most
commonly carried
hematogenously from a
pulmonary infection, rather
than arising as a direct
extension of sinonasal
disease. Therefore, the risk
factors for cerebral infection
are the same as for
pulmonary infection.”
• “The pathophysiology of
aspergillus sets it apart from
other infectious organisms.”

(
 Aflatoxin Mycotoxin Exposure

“CDC estimates that over 4.5 billion

people are chronically exposed.”

“Low level aflatoxin exposure has been

epidemiologically linked to hepatocellular
carcinoma in humans”
 JACK THRASHER, PH.D.
• Complexity of Indoor damp spaces
( Paper handout)
• Contain molds and bacteria and by
products
• Particulate particles (fine and large)
• Additive and synergistic affects
• CDC and NIH and National Academy of
Sciences and Institute of Medicine have
ignored these situations
 AIR TRAFFIC TOWERS – MOLD/HEALTH
POOR INVESTIGATION & REMEDIATION
• Detroit Metro –6th Nationally
• FAA 300+ Air Control Towers
• 16 Nationally mold plagued
• Detroit 100+ Controllers
• Many Controllers are ill
• Poorly inspected/investigated
• Remediation completely flawed
• FAA, NIOSH, OSHA almost non-
responsive to conditions
• Offices, Schools, Homes –
National issue (epidemic)
 SUMMARY
• NEW TESTS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AND
PATENTED.
• CAUSATION BETWEEN MOLD IN ENVIRONMENT
CAN BE LINKED TO HUMAN HEALTH
• NEEDS:
– EDUCATION OF CONGRESS, MEDICAL FIELD,
AND PUBLIC
– INTRODUCTION OF BILLS TO DEAL WITH THE
CLEAN AIR ACTS, ETC
– EDUCATION OF INSURANCE COMPANIES THAT
THIS IS A PROBLEM AND NEEDS TO BE DEALT
WITH FROM AN EARLY STAGE
– SUPPORT THE BILLS INTRODUCED TO
CONGRESS INVOLVING CLEAN AIR AND MOLD