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Did Monsanto know its weed killer could be deadly to people?
These seemingly contradictory research results led the European Union to a compromise reapproval of glyphosate in December 2017, for five years instead of the expected 10.
As Johnson's lawyer Brent Wisner notes, Partridge never mentions Roundup, instead using the word glyphosate. This is intentional, he noted.
Glyphosate is "different than Roundup" since it includes a cocktail of other chemicals, which increases its weed killing potency.
Wisner pointed out that the jury in California focused heavily on the "synergistic effect of the glyphosate and the other chemicals."
"And the simple fact is, Monsanto has never tested the carcinogenicity of the combined product," Wisner added.
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Glyphosate Excretion is Associated With Steatohepatitis and Advanced Liver Fibrosis in Patients With Fatty Liver Disease
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common chronic liver disease in developed countries.1 Patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are considered to be at a higher risk of fibrosis progression and development to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Abbreviations used in this paper:
AMPA (aminomethylphosphonic acid), NAFLD (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease), NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis), SD (standard deviation)
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A U.S. court blamed Roundup for causing cancer. Then Canada defended the herbicide, emails show
Agriculture Canada says herbicide is crucial for modern farming, despite 'stakeholder concerns' over safety
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Roundup Maker to Pay $10 Billion to Settle Cancer Suits
Bayer faced tens of thousands of claims linking the weedkiller to cases of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Some of the money is set aside for future cases.
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Glyphosate exposure exacerbates neuroinflammation and Alzheimer’s disease-like pathology despite a 6-month recovery period in mice
Abstract
Background
Glyphosate use in the United States (US) has increased each year since the introduction of glyphosate-tolerant crops in 1996, yet little is known about its effects on the brain. We recently found that C57BL/6J mice dosed with glyphosate for 14 days showed glyphosate and its major metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid present in brain tissue, with corresponding increases in pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-⍺ (TNF-⍺) in the brain and peripheral blood plasma. Since TNF-⍺ is elevated in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), in this study, we asked whether glyphosate exposure serves as an accelerant of AD pathogenesis. Additionally, whether glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid remain in the brain after a recovery period has yet to be examined.
Methods
We hypothesized that glyphosate exposure would induce neuroinflammation in control mice, while exacerbating neuroinflammation in AD mice, causing elevated Amyloid-β and tau pathology and worsening spatial cognition after recovery. We dosed 4.5-month-old 3xTg-AD and non-transgenic (NonTg) control mice with either 0, 50 or 500 mg/kg of glyphosate daily for 13 weeks followed by a 6-month recovery period.
Results
We found that aminomethylphosphonic acid was detectable in the brains of 3xTg-AD and NonTg glyphosate-dosed mice despite the 6-month recovery. Glyphosate-dosed 3xTg-AD mice showed reduced survival, increased thigmotaxia in the Morris water maze, significant increases in the beta secretase enzyme (BACE-1) of amyloidogenic processing, amyloid-β (Aβ) 42 insoluble fractions, Aβ 42 plaque load and plaque size, and phosphorylated tau (pTau) at epitopes Threonine 181, Serine 396, and AT8 (Serine 202, Threonine 205). Notably, we found increased pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines persisting in both 3xTg-AD and NonTg brain tissue and in 3xTg-AD peripheral blood plasma.
Conclusion
Taken together, our results are the first to demonstrate that despite an extended recovery period, exposure to glyphosate elicits long-lasting pathological consequences. As glyphosate use continues to rise, more research is needed to elucidate the impact of this herbicide and its metabolites on the human brain, and their potential to contribute to dysfunctions observed in neurodegenerative diseases.
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Abstract
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease involving several protein mutations in glycine-rich regions with limited treatment options.
90 – 95% of all cases are non-familial with epidemiological studies showing a significant increased risk in glyphosate-exposed workers.
In this paper, we propose that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup®, plays a role in ALS, mainly through mistakenly substituting for glycine during protein synthesis, disruption of mineral homeostasis as well as setting up a state of dysbiosis. Mouse models of ALS reveal a pre-symptomatic profile of gut dysbiosis.
This dysbiotic state initiate a cascade of events initially impairing metabolism in the gut, and, ultimately, through a series of intermediate stages, leading to motor neuron axonal damage seen in ALS. Lipopolysaccharide, a toxic by-product of dysbiosis which contributes to the pathology, is shown to be statistically higher in ALS patients.
In this paper we paint a compelling view of how glyphosate exerts its deleterious effects, including mitochondrial stress and oxidative damage through glycine substitution. Furthermore, its mineral chelation properties disrupt manganese, copper and zinc balance, and it induces glutamate toxicity in the synapse, which results in a die-back phenomenon in axons of motor neurons supplying the damaged skeletal muscles.
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The collection of documents known as The Monsanto Papers or The Monsanto Secret Documents are available, here, and explained in detail. These personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits claim that exposure to the herbicide weed killer, Roundup, causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma.These documents, obtained via Discovery (pre-trial civil procedure allowing the parties to obtain evidence from each other) allow people to see what is happening “behind the curtain” of secrecy that normally shrouds ongoing litigation. You will find links to internal Monsanto emails, text messages, company reports, studies and other memoranda
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Glyphosate and Roundup Disrupt the Gut Microbiome by Inhibiting the Shikimate Pathway
Doses of glyphosate and Roundup that regulators have assumed to be safe also cause fatty liver disease and death of liver tissue.
Report by Claire Robinson and Michelle Perro, MD
- Nearly all genetically modified (GM) crops worldwide are engineered to be grown with glyphosate-based herbicides such as Roundup.
- A 2019 study in rats provides the first definitive proof that glyphosate and Roundup can inhibit the series of biochemical reactions known as the “shikimate pathway” in the gut microbiome (bacterial population) and can cause alterations in the abundance of certain bacteria at regulatory-permitted (assumed safe) levels of exposure. The shikimate pathway is responsible for the synthesis of aromatic amino acids that are vital for the production of proteins, the building blocks of life. Studies in rats are generally accepted to be relevant to humans.
- The health implications of these changes in the gut microbiome are unclear.
- The study found that the inhibition of the shikimate pathway from glyphosate and Roundup exposure caused a dramatic increase in shikimic acid and 3-dehydroshikimic acid in the gut, suggesting that these substances could be used as biomarkers of exposure to these pesticides.
- The study also showed that Roundup, and to a lesser extent glyphosate, damaged the liver and kidneys of the rats. Some of the test doses of Roundup caused an increase in lesions indicative of fatty liver disease and necrosis (death of tissue), confirming and extending previous research.
- The new study proposes a specific mechanism through which exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides can cause cancer. Rats fed Roundup and glyphosate showed elevated levels of shikimic acid in their gut. Shikimic acid can either protect the body from oxidative stress, or it can act as a cancer promoter. The mechanism of action of glyphosate on the gut microbiome, newly identified in this study, might be of relevance to glyphosate’s ability to cause cancer.
- It would be clinically useful to conduct surveys of human populations, such as those in the USA who are generally exposed to higher levels of glyphosate herbicides compared to other regions, to see if there is a correlation between levels of glyphosate in urine and levels of shikimic acid and 3-dehyroshikimic acid in feces, blood, and urine.
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IARC also concluded that there was “strong” evidence for genotoxicity, both for “pure” glyphosate and for glyphosate formulations.
The IARC Monographs evaluation is based on the systematic assembly and review of all publicly available and pertinent studies, by independent experts, free from vested interests. It follows strict scientific criteria, and the classification system is recognized and used as a reference all around the world. This is because IARC evaluations are based on independent scientific review and rigorous criteria and procedures.
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