Crime-free housing policies increase evictions among minorities, but do not cut crime

Report recommends cities reconsider polices

Reports and Proceedings

RAND CORPORATION

Policies that encourage landlords to evict tenants who have involvement with the criminal justice system do not appear to reduce crime, while increasing evictions among Black residents and people with lower incomes, according to a new RAND Corporation report.

Studying “crime-free housing policies” adopted by cities in California over a decade-long period, researchers found no meaningful statistical evidence that the policies reduce crime.

The study also found that crime-free housing policies significantly increased evictions in the areas of cities where more Black residents lived and where residents tended to have lower  incomes.

“These policies do not appear to create any meaningful benefits to communities, but they do likely lead to increased harm for predominantly low-income minority groups,” said Max G. Griswold, the study’s lead author and an assistant policy researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.

Beginning in 1992, some cities across the nation began adopting crime-free housing policies that either encourage or mandate owners of multi-unit housing complexes to evict tenants who have involvement with the criminal justice system. The policies are generally seen as a part of the war on drugs and were part of a movement to encourage landlords to aid in efforts to lower crime.

Individual city policies may apply to all multi-unit housing in a city or only some targeted units. The programs also typically include efforts to increase physical security such as improving fencing and outdoor lighting, and instruct landlords about how to assess the criminal backgrounds of potential tenants.

While the policies are criticized by opponents as targeting lower-income tenants and people from minority racial groups, proponents claimed that the policies reduce crime and calls for assistance from police.

Criticism about the policies’ negative effects prompted California lawmakers this year to pass a law barring cities from enforcing their crime-free housing policies. The U.S. Department of Justice has also sued one California city alleging its crime-free housing policy violated residents’ civil rights. However, about 2,000 cities nationally have crime-free housing programs.

RAND researchers evaluated the effects of crime-free housing policies by examining 34 cities in California with such policies and comparing trends in crime rates to other cities in the state that did not adopt such policies. The study period spanned from 2009 to 2019.

Researchers found that crime trends during the study period were similar across all of the municipalities examined. Investigating all crimes, violent crimes, and burglaries, researchers were unable to detect a statistically significant effect of crime-free housing policies on crime rates.

The analysis found that crime-free housing policies did have a significant effect on evictions.

For example, the number of evictions in average municipal-block groups that contain rental units covered by crime-free housing programs increased by about by 21% in 2019.

The study found that crime-free housing policies are disproportionately implemented in cities and municipal blocks that have larger Black populations. In addition, neighborhood blocks that are subject to crime-free housing policies have lower median incomes than municipal blocks without CFHPs.

The report suggests that municipal policymakers should reconsider maintaining or adopting crime-free housing policies because they do not serve their main purpose of reducing crime. If crime-free policies are maintained, they should be required to inform people why they are being evicted, which is not necessary under the existing policies.

Support for the project was provided by the Lowy Family Group through its funding of the RAND Center on Housing and Homelessness.

The study, “An Evaluation of Crime-Free Housing Policies,” is available at www.rand.org.  Other authors of the report are Stephanie Brooks Holliday, Alex Sizemore, Cheng Ren, Lawrence Baker, Khadesia Howell, Osonde A. Osoba, Jhacova Williams, Jason M. Ward and Sarah B. Hunter.

The RAND Social and Economic Well-Being division seeks to actively improve the health, and social and economic well-being of populations and communities throughout the world.

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DOI

10.7249/RRA2689-1 

 

Consumption of antibiotics in the community back to pre-pandemic levels in the European Union and European Economic Area

Community consumption rebounded in the EU, increasing by 18.8% between 2021 and 2022

Peer-Reviewed Publication

EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL (ECDC)

 

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THE AUTHORS OBSERVED A HIGH VARIABILITY IN THE EU/EEA POPULATION-WEIGHTED MEAN COMMUNITY ANTIBIOTIC CONSUMPTION BETWEEN 2019 AND 2022.

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CREDIT: EURSOSURVEILLANCE

This year’s European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD) focuses on the targets outlined in the 2023 Council Recommendation to step up efforts in the European Union (EU) against antimicrobial resistance in a One Health approach. [1] Those recommendations formulate the 2023 goal to reduce total antibiotic consumption (community and hospital sectors combined) by 20%, using consumption data from 2019 as baseline.

Consumption of antibiotics in the community accounts for around 90% of the total use. This means, that a substantial and consistent decline in the use of antibiotics in this sector will be key on the way towards reaching the set goals for 2030 which aim at preventing and reducing antimicrobial resistance overall.

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) showed an unprecedented 18.5% decrease in community consumption of antibiotics in 2020 compared with the 2019 baseline. This drop has been related to the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g. physical distancing or wearing of face masks) which reduced overall spread of pathogens, and to the fact that prescriptions of antibiotics were affected by the disrupted access to healthcare services during the first year of the pandemic.

Unusual fluctuation between 2019 and 2022
In their rapid communication published in Eurosurveillance on occasion of EAAD and World AMR Awareness Week, Ventura-Gabarró et al. present most recent data reported to the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption Network. [2] They show that the observed decrease from 2020 did not last.

Instead, along with the gradual lifting of interventions across the EU/EEA, mean community consumption went up again and increased by 18.8% between 2021 and 2022 with no significant difference from the pre-pandemic level in 2019. This rebound in consumption of antibacterials for systemic use in the community sector moved antibiotic consumption rates back towards the 2019 baseline value.

The data presented by Ventura-Gabarró et al. show different patterns of antibiotic consumption across the EU/EEA countries. In 13 of 27 countries, community antibiotic consumption was higher in 2022 than in 2019, with an average increase of 8.4% among these 13 countries (range: 0.6–26.9).

From 2020 to 2021, the EU/EEA overall, as in 15 individual countries (Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden), observed no or just a marginal (less than +/−3%) change in antibiotic consumption in the community. Between 2021 and 2022 pre-pandemic levels of 2019 were reached again with an average increase of 20.5%.

The authors highlight that “although the resurgence of both viral and bacterial respiratory tract infections during the latter part of our study period might partly explain this rebound in antibiotic consumption, the increase could also reflect a missed opportunity to strengthen and reinforce prudent antibiotic use.” They conclude that “the COVID-19-pandemic had a substantial impact on community antibiotic consumption in the EU/EEA between 2020 and 2022. Countries exhibited different patterns of antibiotic consumption, underlining the importance of understanding each country in its own context. Further examination into local prescribing and consumption behaviours for specific antibiotic groups can inform effective stewardship interventions and bring the EU/EEA closer to its antibiotic consumption targets for 2030.”

 

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References/notes to editors:
[1] European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD) is a European health initiative coordinated by ECDC. It provides a platform and support for national campaigns on the prudent use of antibiotics in the EU/EEA and take place each year across Europe on 18 November. EAAD is organised in partnership with the World AMR Awareness Week, organised annually by the World Health Organization from 18 to 24 November. See more: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/european-antibiotic-awareness-day-eaad-2023

[2] Ventura-Gabarró Cèlia, Leung Vivian H, Vlahović-Palčevski Vera, Machowska Anna, Monnet Dominique L, Högberg Liselotte Diaz, ESAC-Net study group. Rebound in community antibiotic consumption after the observed decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic, EU/EEA, 2022. Euro Surveill. 2023;28(46):pii=2300604. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.46.2300604

The authors analysed community sector consumption of antibacterials for systemic use group (anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC) group J01), quantified as defined daily doses (DDD) per 1,000 inhabitants per day (ATC/DDD index for 2023), and as reported to the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption Network (ESAC-Net)

[3] Antibiotics, also known as antimicrobial drugs, are medicines that can kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria to cure infections in people, animals and sometimes plants. Bacteria have antibiotic resistance when specific antibiotics have lost their ability to kill or stop the growth of the bacteria. Some bacteria are naturally resistant to certain antibiotics (intrinsic or inherent resistance). A more worrying problem is when some bacteria, that are normally susceptible to antibiotics, become resistant as a result of genetic changes (acquired resistance). Resistant bacteria survive in the presence of the antibiotic and continue to multiply causing longer illness or even death. Infections caused by resistant bacteria may require more care as well as alternative and more expensive antibiotics, which may have more severe side effects. Responsible use of antibiotics can help stop resistant bacteria from developing and help keep antibiotics effective for the use of future generations. See also: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/antimicrobial-resistance/facts/factsheets/general-public

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JOURNAL

Eurosurveillance

DOI

10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.46.2300604 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

ARTICLE TITLE

Rebound in community antibiotic consumption after the observed decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic, EU/EEA, 2022

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

16-Nov-2023

 MENINGITIS

Significant "post-COVID" resurgence in invasive meningococcal disease

Peer-Reviewed Publication

INSTITUT PASTEUR

 

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NEISSERIA MENINGITIDIS BACTERIA (IN RED) BINDING TO THE SURFACE OF AN EPITHELIAL CELL (NUCLEUS IN BLUE) INFECTED WITH INFLUENZA VIRUS (VIRAL NEURAMINIDASE IN GREEN). INFLUENZA INFECTION FACILITATES DIPLOCOCCI BINDING TO THE CELL SURFACE. FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY.
© INSTITUT PASTEUR/ MUHAMED-KHEIR TAHA INVASIVE BACTERIAL INFECTIONS UNIT

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CREDIT: © INSTITUT PASTEUR/ MUHAMED-KHEIR TAHA INVASIVE BACTERIAL INFECTIONS UNIT

A team of scientists from the Institut Pasteur has used the database of the National Reference Center for Meningococci to trace the evolution of invasive meningococcal disease cases in France between 2015 and 2022, revealing an unprecedented resurgence in the disease after the easing of control measures imposed during the COVID-19 epidemic. Recently reported cases have mainly been caused by meningococcal serogroups that were less frequent before the pandemic, and there has been a particular uptick in cases among people aged 16 to 24. The results, published in the Journal of Infection and Public Health on October 12, 2023, should help guide adaptation of the vaccine strategy for this fatal disease.

During the COVID-19 epidemic, health and hygiene measures like wearing masks and social distancing had a positive impact on respiratory infections. This was the case for invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), with the number of infections falling by more than 75% in 2020 and 2021. But what would happen at the end of the pandemic, when the protective measures were eased? "During the COVID-19 pandemic, two theories emerged," explains Muhamed-Kheir Taha, co-lead author of the study, Head of the Invasive Bacterial Infections Unit and Director of the National Reference Center for Meningococci at the Institut Pasteur. "The first was that this positive effect would last and that meningococci would stop circulating over the long term. The second was that there would be a rapid resurgence in bacterial activity among a naive population which had not come into contact with the bacteria for a long time." A team of scientists from the Institut Pasteur therefore decided to conduct a detailed study of the evolution of the disease between 2015 and 2022, and they confirmed the second hypothesis.

Using samples from the National Reference Center for Meningococci, which has recorded all cases of IMD in France since 1980, the scientists were able to look back over the pandemic period. The first observation was clear. "There was an unprecedented resurgence in invasive meningococcal disease in autumn 2022, and now, in autumn 2023, the number of cases is higher than in the pre-COVID-19 period," outlines Samy Taha, first author of the study and a scientist in the Institut Pasteur's Invasive Bacterial Infections Unit. Compared with a total of 298 cases recorded between January and September 2019, 421 cases have already been recorded between January and September 2023 – a rise of 36%, even though the winter peak has not yet arrived. The figure for the same period in 2021 was 53 cases. There are two main explanations for this: general immunity was weaker because strains were circulating less, but there was also a decrease in vaccination, with meningitis C vaccination falling by 20% during the first lockdown, for example. So the population has become naive when faced with bacteria that are constantly evolving – the bacterial genome is highly variable.

"Since the pandemic, there has been a particular resurgence in meningococcal serogroups W and Y compared with the other serogroups," continues Ala-Eddine Deghmane, co-lead author of the study and Deputy Director of the National Reference Center for Meningococci at the Institut Pasteur. "And although all age groups are concerned, we found that those most affected by this new wave of meningitis are young people aged 16 to 24." In other words, the meningococcal bacterial strains responsible for IMD today are different from those that were circulating before the pandemic, and they target different age groups. "It is almost as if the COVID-19 epidemic has reset the entire system," says Samy Taha.

This resurgence in meningitis could gather momentum in the coming months with the effect of seasonal influenza. The influenza virus creates a favorable context for the development of meningococcal bacteria. All mass gatherings can be a risk factor for infection in general, and especially for IMD.

In France, only meningitis C vaccination is mandatory; vaccination for meningitis B is merely recommended in infants. But there are not yet any recommendations in the general population for serogroups Y and W. The scientists are therefore in contact with the French National Authority for Health to help adapt the future vaccine strategy. "If the quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine for serogroups A, C, Y and W were to be recommended for adolescents, it would provide direct protection for them and also indirect protection for other categories of the population," explains Ala-Eddine Deghmane. Adolescents are the main healthy carriers of meningococci. "We must remember that without treatment, the mortality rate for bacterial meningitis is virtually 100%. Even with proper treatment, there is still a 10% mortality rate. So vaccine prevention is crucial," concludes Muhamed-Kheir Taha.

 

Source

The rapid rebound of invasive meningococcal disease in France at the end of 2022, Journal of Infection and Public Health, 12 octobre 2023
Samy Taha, Eva Hong, Mélanie Denizon, Michael Falguières, Aude Terrade, Ala-Eddine Deghmane, Muhamed-Kheir Taha

Invasive Bacterial Infections Unit and National Reference Center for Meningococci and Haemophilus influnezae, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, France

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2023.10.001

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JOURNAL

Journal of Infection and Public Health

DOI

10.1016/j.jiph.2023.10.001 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

The rapid rebound of invasive meningococcal disease in France at the end of 2022

 

Cheap medicines prevented migraine as well as expensive ones

Peer-Reviewed Publication

THE UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN

 

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MARTE-HELENE BJØRK

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CREDIT: SILJE ALVESTAD

Migraine is more than just a headache. Often the pain is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity, and sound sensitivity. Chronic migraine can be disabling and may prevent many, especially women, from contributing to working life.

Still, it often takes a long time for migraine patients to find a treatment that works well for them. Researchers at the Norwegian Center for Headache Research (NorHead) have used data from the Norwegian Prescription Register to look at which medicines best prevent migraine in people in Norway:

“There has now been done a lot of research on this subject before. This may weaken the quality of the treatment and increase the cost of treatment for this patient group”, says the leader of the study, Professor Marte-Helen Bjørk at the Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen.

Three medicines had better effect than the first choice of medicines.

The researchers used national register data from 2010 to 2020 to estimate treatment effect. They measured this by looking at the consumption of acute migraine medicines before and after starting preventive treatment, and investigated how long the people with migraine used the different preventive treatments. A total of over one hundred thousand migraine patients were in the study.

“When the withdrawal of acute migraine medicines changed little after starting preventive medicines, or people stopped quickly on the preventive medicines, the preventive medicine was interpreted as having little effect. If the preventive medicine was used on long, uninterrupted periods, and we saw a decrease in the consumption of acute medicines, we interpreted the preventive medicine as having good effect”, Bjørk explains.

As a rule, so-called beta blockers are used as the first choice to prevent migraine attacks, but the researchers found that especially three medicines had better preventive effect than these: CGRP inhibitors, amitriptyline and simvastatin.

“The latter two medicines are also established medicines used for depression, chronic pain and high cholesterol, respectively, while CGRP inhibitors are developed and used specifically for chronic migraine”, says the professor.

Can have great significance for the cost of health care.

CGRP inhibitors are more expensive than the other medicines. In 2021 their reimbursement amounted to 500 million NOK (not including discounts given by pharma companies).

“Our analysis shows that some established and cheaper medicines can have a similar treatment effect as the more expensive ones. This may be of great significance both for the patient group and Norwegian health care” says Bjørk.

The researchers at NorHead have already started work on a large clinical study to measure the effect of established cholesterol-lowering medicines as a preventive measure against chronic and episodic migraine.

Facts:

The study was done in collaboration with Aud Nome Dueland (Headache Norway, Sandvika Neurocenter), Frank Sørgaard (former medical advisor at Novartis) and Solveig Borkenhagen with several from Oslo Economics. The results are published in the prestigious journal European Journal of Neurology.

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JOURNAL

European Journal of Neurology

DOI

10.1111/ene.16062 

ARTICLE TITLE

Comparative retention and effectiveness of migraine preventive treatments: A nationwide registry-based cohort study

Study reveals surprising link between malnutrition and rising antibiotic resistance

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

University of B.C. researchers have uncovered startling connections between micronutrient deficiencies and the composition of gut microbiomes in early life that could help explain why resistance to antibiotics has been rising across the globe.

The team investigated how deficiencies in crucial micronutrients such as vitamin A, B12, folate, iron, and zinc affected the community of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microbes that live in the digestive system.

They discovered that these deficiencies led to significant shifts in the gut microbiome of mice—most notably an alarming expansion of bacteria and fungi known to be opportunistic pathogens.

Importantly, mice with micronutrient deficiencies also exhibited a higher enrichment of genes that have been linked to antibiotic resistance.

"Micronutrient deficiency has been an overlooked factor in the conversation about global antibiotic resistance," said Dr. Paula Littlejohn, a postdoctoral research fellow with UBC's department of medical genetics and department of pediatrics, and the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute. "This is a significant discovery, as it suggests that nutrient deficiencies can make the gut environment more conducive to the development of antibiotic resistance, which is a major global health concern."

Bacteria naturally possess these genes as a defence mechanism. Certain circumstances, such as antibiotic pressure or nutrient stress, cause an increase in these mechanisms. This poses a threat that could render many potent antibiotics ineffective and lead to a future where common infections could become deadly.

Antibiotic resistance is often attributed to overuse and misuse of antibiotics, but the work of Dr. Littlejohn and her UBC colleagues suggests that the 'hidden hunger' of micronutrient deficiencies is another important factor.

"Globally, around 340 million children under five suffer from multiple micronutrient deficiencies, which not only affect their growth but also significantly alter their gut microbiomes," said Dr. Littlejohn. "Our findings are particularly concerning as these children are often prescribed antibiotics for malnutrition-related illnesses. Ironically, their gut microbiome may be primed for antibiotic resistance due to the underlying micronutrient deficiencies."

The study, published this week in Nature Microbiology, offers critical insights into the far-reaching consequences of micronutrient deficiencies in early life. It underscores the need for comprehensive strategies to address undernutrition and its ripple effects on health. Addressing micronutrient deficiencies is about more than overcoming malnutrition, it may also be a critical step in fighting the global scourge of antibiotic resistance.

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JOURNAL

Nature Microbiology

DOI

10.1038/s41564-023-01519-3 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Multiple micronutrient deficiencies in early life cause multi-kingdom alterations in the gut microbiome and intrinsic antibiotic resistance genes in mice

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

16-Nov-2023

AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

NASA researcher honored by Goddard Tech Office for earth science work

Dr. Antonia Gambacorta earned the 2023 Goddard IRAD Technology Leadership award.

Grant and Award Announcement

NASA/GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER

 

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DR. ANTONIA GAMBACORTA

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CREDIT: CHRISTOPHER GUNN

Earth science researcher Dr. Antonia Gambacorta earned the 2023 Goddard IRAD Technology Leadership award for pioneering new ways to measure lower layers of Earth’s atmosphere from space.

The award from the chief technologist of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, recognizes Gambacorta’s work demonstrating how hyperspectral microwave sounding, the measurement of hundreds of thousands of wavelengths of microwave light, could dissect Earth’s atmospheric planetary boundary layer (PBL). She also conceptualized a microwave photonics radiometer instrument to reveal these measurements.

The part of Earth’s atmosphere people live in, and have the most experience studying, is the hardest to measure from space due to the volume and complex behavior of the air above it, Gambacorta said. Developing the ability to probe and measure the boundary layer on a global, routine basis is important to better understanding its connections to the rest of our atmosphere, the land surface, and the oceans.

“The unique challenge of the PBL requires a novel path forward that will bring together traditionally disparate observing system components in order to enable transformative scientific advances in Earth system science,” said fellow researcher Joseph Santanello. “To that end, Dr. Gambacorta’s efforts extend beyond individual technology developments, and are represented in her aspirational vision of PBL sounding as ‘the tie that binds.’ Just as notably, Dr. Gambacorta’s passion, enthusiasm, and respect for her colleagues has been evident through each of stage of the project’s development.”

In seeking solutions to measure the boundary layer, Gambacorta stepped up to lead Goddard’s hyperspectral microwave projects and became the face of the center’s Decadal Survey Incubation (DSI) efforts. Through multiple Internal Research and Development, or IRAD grants, she and her team performed fundamental research to show the effectiveness of hyperspectral microwave sounding, conceptualized a microwave photonics radiometer instrument, and more recently began developing a framework to integrate data from multiple sensors for boundary layer science observations.

“Antonia’s innovation rises above her individual successes as a capable and creative innovator,” said Goddard Chief Technologist Peter Hughes. “She capitalized on multiple programs to incubate new technology while engaging expertise from across agencies and around the world to connect to other resources.”

Her cutting-edge innovations and research earned support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office and from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Specifically, Gambacorta built on her IRAD successes to secure an Earth Science Technology Office Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) project award to further develop her team’s microwave photonics radiometer concept and DSI funding to advance the multi-sensor fusion framework. Additionally, her momentum enabled a DSI-funded airborne instrument project attempting to transform CoSMIR, Goddard's Conical Scanning Millimeter-wave Radiometer, into a hyperspectral sensor. That project is led by up-and-coming instrument scientist Rachael Kroodsma.

This entire portfolio that Gambacorta now manages also culminated in a successful NOAA Broad Agency Announcement proposal to demonstrate hyperspectral microwave radiometry. Through her engagement with colleagues in ESTO, NOAA, and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, Hughes said Goddard’s hyperspectral microwave and PBL initiatives are regarded globally as the trusted strategy for understanding the planetary boundary layer. Goddard is widely viewed as a pioneer in the use of integrated photonics for Earth remote sensing due to Gambacorta’s leadership, he added.

“Antonia serves as a true inspiration to the technologists and scientists on her teams,” her colleague Santanello added. “Her innovation and contribution to Goddard and the larger community can also be measured in each of these ways.”

 

Nanoplastics promote conditions for Parkinson’s across various lab models

A novel study sounds the alarm on the need for a new area of research.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

DUKE UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

 

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PLASTIC NANOPARTICLES (GREEN), VISIBLE UNDER A MICROSCOPE, CO-MINGLING WITH PROTEIN AGGREGATES(RED) IN NEURONAL LYSOSOMES (BLUE). TYPICALLY, CONCENTRATIONS OF THE PROTEIN AGGREGATES ARE SO SMALL, THEY WOULD NOT BE VIABLE AT THIS LEVEL.

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CREDIT: DUKE HEALTH

DURHAM, N.C. – Nanoplastics interact with a particular protein that is naturally found in the brain, creating changes linked to Parkinson’s disease and some types of dementia.

In a Duke-led study appearing Nov. 17 in Science Advances, the researchers report that the findings create a foundation for a new area of investigation, fueled by the timely impact of environmental factors on human biology.

“Parkinson’s disease has been called the fastest growing neurological disorder in the world,” said principal investigator, Andrew West, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke University School of Medicine. “Numerous lines of data suggest environmental factors might play a prominent role in Parkinson’s disease, but such factors have for the most part not been identified.”

Improperly disposed plastics have been shown to break into very small pieces and accumulate in water and food supplies, and were found in the blood of most adults in a recent study.

“Our study suggests that the emergence of micro and nanoplastics in the environment might represent a new toxin challenge with respect to Parkinson’s disease risk and progression,” West said. “This is especially concerning given the predicted increase in concentrations of these contaminants in our water and food supplies.”

West and colleagues in Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment and the Department of Chemistry at Trinity College of Arts and Sciences found that nanoparticles of the plastic polystyrene -- typically found in single use items such as disposable drinking cups and cutlery -- attract the accumulation of the protein known as alpha-synuclein. West said the study’s most surprising findings are the tight bonds formed between the plastic and the protein within the area of the neuron where these accumulations are congregating, the lysosome.

Researchers said the plastic-protein accumulations happened across three different models performed in the study - in test tubes, cultured neurons, and mouse models of Parkinson’s disease. West said questions remain about how such interactions might be happening within humans and whether the type of plastic might play a role.

“While microplastic and nanoplastic contaminants are being closely evaluated for their potential impact in cancer and autoimmune diseases, the striking nature of the interactions we could observe in our models suggest a need for evaluating increasing nanoplastic contaminants on Parkinson’s disease and dementia risk and progression,” West said.

“The technology needed to monitor nanoplastics is still at the earliest possible stages and not ready yet to answer all the questions we have,” he said. “But hopefully efforts in this area will increase rapidly, as we see what these particles can do in our models. If we know what to look out for, we can take the necessary steps to protect ourselves, without compromising all the benefits we reap every day from plastics.”

The study was funded by in part by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s initiative (ASAP-020527).

In addition to West, study authors include Zhiyong Liu, Arpine Sokratian, Addison M. Duda, Enquan Xu, Christina Stanhope, Amber Fu, Samuel Strader, Huizhong Li, Yuan Yuan, Benjamin G. Bobay, Joana Sipe, Ketty Bai, Iben Lundgaard, Na Liu, Belinda Hernandez, Catherine Bowes Rickman, and Sara E. Miller.

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JOURNAL

Science Advances

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

Anionic nanoplastic contaminants promote Parkinson’s disease–associated α-synuclein aggregation

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

17-Nov-2023

 OCCAMS RAZOR

In the fight against malaria-carrying mosquitoes, just add soap

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO

 

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UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO SCIENTISTS COLINCE KAMDEM, PH.D., LEFT, AND CAROLINE FOUET, PH.D., HAVE FOUND THAT ADDING SMALL QUANTITIES OF LIQUID SOAP TO SOME CLASSES OF PESTICIDES CAN BOOST THEIR POTENCY BY MORE THAN TEN-FOLD. 

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CREDIT: THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO

EL PASO, Texas (Nov. 17, 2023) – Could the solution to the decades-long battle against malaria be as simple as soap? In a new study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, scientists at The University of Texas at El Paso have made a compelling case for it.

The team has found that adding small quantities of liquid soap to some classes of pesticides can boost their potency by more than ten-fold. 

The discovery is promising news as malaria-carrying mosquitoes display an increasing resistance to current insecticides, said Colince Kamdem, Ph.D., lead author of the study and assistant professor in UTEP’s Department of Biological Sciences.

“Over the past two decades, mosquitoes have become strongly resistant to most insecticides,” Kamdem said. “It’s a race now to develop alternative compounds with new modes of action.”

Both laboratory tests and field trials have shown that neonicotinoids, a special class of insecticide, are a promising alternative to target populations showing resistance to existing insecticides, said UTEP Research Assistant Professor Caroline Fouet, Ph.D., second author of the study. Neonicotinoids, however, do not kill some mosquito species unless their potency is boosted. In this case, Fouet said, soap is the boosting substance.  

Malaria is a devastating mosquito-borne disease that is prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America, causing fever, fatigue, headaches and chills; the disease can be fatal. In 2020, there were an estimated 241 million cases of malaria worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control, resulting in 627,000 deaths.

Prior to joining UTEP, Kamdem worked at Cameroon’s Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID); it was there that he first caught on to soap’s potency while conducting routine insecticide testing.

Current protocols from the World Health Organization (WHO) for testing mosquitoes’ susceptibility to some insecticides recommend adding a seed oil-based product to insecticide concoctions. Kamdem noticed when the compound was added, mosquito mortality increased from when the insecticide was used on its own.

“That compound belongs to the same class of substances as kitchen soap,” Kamdem said. “We thought, ‘Why don’t we test products that have same properties?’

He and his team selected three low-cost, linseed-oil based soaps that are prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa — Maître Savon de Marseille, Carolin Savon Noir and La Perdrix Savon — and added them to four different neonicotinoids, acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. 

The hunch paid off. In all cases, the insecticides drastically enhanced potency, the team wrote in the study. “All three brands of soap increase mortality from 30 percent to 100 percent compared to when the insecticides were used on their own,” said Ashu Fred, first author of the study and Ph.D. student at Cameroon’s University of Yaoundé 1.

The team also tested the addition of soap to a class of insecticides known as pyrethroids. In those cases, however, they saw no benefits.

The team hopes to conduct additional testing to establish exactly how much soap is needed to enhance insecticides. 

 “We would love to make a soap-insecticide formulation that can be used indoors in Africa and be healthy for users,” Kamdem said. “There are unknowns as to whether such a formulation will stick to materials like mosquito nets, but the challenge is both promising and very exciting.”

Additional authors on the study are doctoral student Marilene M. Ambadiang of CRID and the University of Yaoundé 1; and Professor Veronique Penlap-Beng, Ph.D., of the University of Yaoundé 1.

The project was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

 

About The University of Texas at El Paso

The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 24,000 students are Hispanic, and more than half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 171 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.

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JOURNAL

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases

ARTICLE TITLE

Vegetable oil-based surfactants are adjuvants that enhance the efficacy of neonicotinoid insecticides and can bias susceptibility testing in adult mosquitoes

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

17-Nov-2023