Letter: A toxin's toll

From Ann Wills

Jessica Hamzelou reports that 80 per cent of older people’s brain cells are vulnerable to developing DNA damage (29 September, p 6). Could this be due to an external toxic agent, such as aluminium, to which older brains have been exposed for longer?

In 1988, for example, 20 tonnes of aluminium sulphate got into the water supply serving the town of Camelford, Cornwall. Residents reported memory loss, premature ageing, rashes and joint pains.

A 1999 report in the British Medical Journal concluded that some suffered “considerable damage” to brain function (vol 319, p 807).

Aluminium sulphate is routinely added to a host of products that we consume, including tap water.

Ruislip, Middlesex, UK