Soap Ingredient Triclosan Linked to Muscle Weakness - East Idaho News
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Soap Ingredient Triclosan Linked to Muscle Weakness

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GETTY H 081412 Soap?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1344942827803Altrendo Images/Stockbyte/Thinkstock(DAVIS, Calif.) — Soap may hold a dirty little secret in the form of a chemical called triclosan.  Used in antiseptic hand soaps, shaving cream, toothpaste, deodorant and other hygiene products, a new study has found the chemical can weaken muscle contraction.

When researchers at the University of California at Davis exposed the individual muscle fibers of fish and mice to triclosan, they found it impaired the normal contraction mechanism.  Both skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle no longer operated normally, and this was true when the mice and fish were tested themselves, or their muscle fibers were examined individually in a test tube.

Mice showed up to a 25 percent reduction in heart function measured within 20 minutes of exposure to the chemical, as well as an 18 percent reduction in grip strength up to 60 minutes after exposure.  Fish that swam in triclosan-tainted water for seven days performed worse on swimming tests than those that did not.

While the evidence for toxicity is largely based on animal studies, some experts have said that it might affect humans too.

“This is an interesting and potentially concerning finding,” said Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, dean of global health in the department of preventive medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.  “Many synthetic chemicals now known to be toxic to humans were first recognized as toxic in animal studies.”

Landrigan said that exposure in the womb is of particular worry.

“Early development is a time of particular vulnerability to toxic chemicals.  Minute exposures at the wrong moment in embryonic or fetal development can have devastating effects.  The great complexity of early human development creates windows of vulnerability, periods of heightened sensitivity to toxic chemicals that exist only in early life and have no counterpart in adulthood,” he said.

Adding to the potential worry, previous studies have found that triclosan may alter hormone regulation in laboratory animals, or cause antibiotic resistance.

Not all experts believe the chemical is a problem because in it remains bound to blood proteins, which should in theory diminish its impact on humans.  And manufacturers are adamant that there is no real proof triclosan is dangerous for humans.  They’re also quick to point out several recent studies that demonstrated its effectiveness in killing germs.

But some consumer groups and members of Congress have called for a ban on antiseptic soap products.

Both the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency are currently reviewing the chemical’s safety, but the FDA said it didn’t have sufficient evidence for a ban.

This latest study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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