Nimhans' new centre to study links between neuro disorders and toxins

Bengaluru: A first-of-its-kind centre at Bengaluru's National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans) is aiming to study the rising burden of neurological disorders linked to toxin exposure.

Exposure to heavy metals such as lead has been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders and cognitive impairment, but studies into this aspect remain limited.

The Centre for Neurobehavioural Toxicology, which was inaugurated on Tuesday, aims to fill the void and bring us closer to understanding the effects of harmful metals that we interact with everyday on mental health.  

Dr M M Srinivas Bharath, Professor and Head of Nimhans' Department of Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neurotoxicology, which will supervise the centre, told DH that toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and manganese are among the harmful metals known to damage the human nervous system. 

Despite this, these toxic metals are ubiquitous and are part of everyday objects like paint, batteries, cosmetics, water pipes, vehicular emission and welding.

“Lead is used as a stabiliser in multiple industrial products, including painted toys. Children can ingest lead by chewing on such toys or licking wall paint, especially those at playschools,” Bharath said.  

Lead is known to lower intelligence quotient (IQ), damage peripheral organs and can even leak into the foetus from the mother, causing behavioural changes and development disorders in babies.

Similarly, manganese can damage the nervous system, causing Parkinson's-like symptoms, while exposure to aluminium has been linked with Alzheimer's disease.

“Earlier, a US-based research has shown that early and sustained exposure to lead, a heavy metal found in gasoline-related products and lead acid batteries, can cause a decrease in IQ,” said Bharath.

Bharath stressed the need for further research on the impact of such toxins on the human nervous system, though he claimed that studies on animals in India in controlled environments had shown similar results. 

While acute exposure to such toxins causes immediate, life-threatening symptoms, long-term exposure is also harmful and needs to be assessed in neuropsychiatric patients.

The centre has lined up plenty of research.

One of the first initiatives includes studies to ascertain the level of toxic chemicals such as heavy metals in the blood and urine samples of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders, said Dr Priyamvada Sharma, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neurotoxicology, NIMHANS.

Later, metal testing will also be extended to tobacco products and unauthorised herbal medicines. In the future, the centre plans to conduct population-based toxicology studies in different communities and geographical locations and link the same with the occurrence of neuropsychiatric disorders.