Page 65 - Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments in Psychiatry

The Role of Allergies, Poisons, and Toxins in Psychiatry | 65

discovered continuously—and far too extensive for us to cover in
this brief publication, though we can give some examples.
Hydrogen sulfide—common to volcanic eruptions, tanneries,
and some paper mills—can affects mood states and the
psychological stress response. In animal studies, it has been
shown to alter levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin,
norepinephrine, dopamine, aspartate and glutamate. Carbon
disulfide, also a neurotoxin, has been linked to personality
changes, mood disorders and suicides in occupational settings. A
Duke University study, looking into why two neighborhoods in
North Carolina had 10 times the state’s suicide rate and 6.4 times
the rate of primary brain cancers, found that a local asphalt
plant emitted these and other neurotoxic compounds into the
atmosphere. Hydrogen sulfide levels reached as much a ten
times the acceptable standard (Duke Medicine 2004).
When farm workers receive what they consider to be a toxic
level of exposure to pesticides with organophosphates, it has
been found they have nearly six times the rate of depression as
the general public (Stallones 2002).
Particulate air pollution, a pervasive exposure in modern urban
environments, has been found to alter brain structure and cause
cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms. Mice exposed
to pollutants at the same levels of modern city inhabitants were
found to have not only depressed states, but elevated cytokine
expression in the hippocampus and altered dendrite growth
(Fonken 2011).
Electromagnetic fields (EMF), though not a toxin or poison by
definition, are nonetheless an environmental exposure found to
have serious impact on mental health for some individuals.
Electrical utility workers have double the suicide rate, for
example, possibly due to melatonin depletion triggered through
EMF exposure (van Wijngaarden 2000).
The treatment for toxic exposure will vary depending on the
substance but the first line of defense would be, if possible,
removal of the offending material. In the case of occupational or