PSP - ORIGINAL NOTES

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/progressive-supranuclear-palsy-psp/

NHS website - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/progressive-supranuclear-palsy-psp/

Search term: Progressive supranuclear palsy contamination

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-56930-w

Overall, this study suggests that chromium and nickel could contribute to the pathophysiology of tauopathies such as PSP by promoting tau accumulation and neuronal cell death.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-56930-w

Overall, this study suggests that chromium and nickel could contribute to the pathophysiology of tauopathies such as PSP by promoting tau accumulation and neuronal cell death.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4617163/

A general study that took a a large number of diagnosed patients and worked out commonalities. 

https://n.neurology.org/content/85/15/1293 - abstract only - a study that looks at a high occurence of PSP in a heavy industrialized area of France. 

PSP.org - https://www.psp.org/iwanttolearn/progressive-supranuclear-palsy/ 

"There is evidence that chemicals in the environment or diet may contribute to the cause of PSP. Surveys of PSP patients have shown, on average, lesser educational attainment in people with PSP. This suggests that part of the cause of PSP may be certain occupational factors exposing people to different chemicals than are encountered by people with more sedentary or office-bound occupations. Another possibility is that people with less education tend to live in areas closer to industrial sites, some of which may generate toxins."

"Another intriguing geographical cluster of PSP exists in a group of suburban towns in northern France. The area was the site of metal-related industry that contaminated the soil in that area over much of the 20th century. Investigations are now underway to narrow the long list of toxins that could explain this cluster and then to assess the role of such toxins in PSP elsewhere."

youtube video on PSP research by psp.org doctor - https://youtu.be/rIuh66FFOsw

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332218366149

3.2.2. Zinc
Apart from the roles discussed above, zinc contributes to the proper operation of the brain. The element, also found in the Zn2+ form, is confirmed to influence the activity of NMDA and AMPA glutamate receptors, as well as GABAA and glycine inotropic receptors [107]. Any excess of Zn significantly bears on their neurotoxic feature and, as studies showed, can further the development of neurodegenerative disorders. It is observed both in normal and ischemic conditions. Zinc homeostasis disturbance was observed in numerous diseases including Alzheimer’s, prion disease or Wilson’s disease [108,109]. Shown below are the and mechanisms of Zn action leading to neurodegeneration.

https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/progressive-supranuclear-palsy/

rare diseases - PSP is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, corticobasal degeneration and other neurodegenerative disorders.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-56930-w

https://n.neurology.org/content/85/15/1293

PSP Research Fund of Rutgers University

20210330R-DO-NCBI-psp-wattrelos

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4617163/

Conclusion: We have identified a cluster of PSP in a geographical area with severe environmental contamination by industrial metals.

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is an uncommon sporadic disorder with no reports in the literature of geographical clusters. Its incidence in developed countries is approximately 1.2 per 100,000 per year and the prevalence of investigator-diagnosed cases is 5 to 6 per 100,000.

Wattrelos is a town in northern France where textile dyeing plants and tanneries operated for most of the 20th century, using arsenic and chromate from the nearby chemical plants. Arsenic and hexavalent chromium contamination have been documented in the soils of the sites of former plants in Wattrelos and Leers,24 where the cluster of PSP cases described in this report live.

Misdiagnosis - have been misdiagnosed as Parkinson disease or diffuse cerebrovascular disease.

The cause of the cluster will be the subject of subsequent studies. Suspicion must first be directed at the site just south of the center of Wattrelos, where large heaps of spent ore (slag) from now-defunct metals extraction industry are located. Other locations in the immediate area may have been contaminated by the numerous textile-dyeing and leather-tanning plants that used metals in their processes. Many residents of the area raise fruits and vegetables in vegetable gardens and allotments for family consumption and for sale at local markets. Some plant products such as thyme commonly grown in home gardens in Wattrelos are consumed by its residents and have been found to concentrate arsenic and other toxic metals.

Arsenic, a potential neurotoxin, has been found in the soil at the sites of the former chemical plants in Wattrelos24 and is present in the phosphate ore formerly processed there, as described also in Pakistan.38 Contamination with chromium is common in Wattrelos, but we consider it to be a less likely candidate as a neurotoxin although a synergistic toxicity with arsenic is possible. Aluminum, suspected in the past of a causal link to Alzheimer disease, was not processed in this area.

20210330A-DO-LGOL-psp-handout

A cluster is the occurrence of a greater than expected number of cases of a particular disease within a group of people, a geographic area, or a period of time. 

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1891770/

https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mds.26512

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4861658/

SUPPORTING INFO

CONCLUSION - We did not find evidence for a specific causative chemical exposure; higher number of years of drinking well water is a risk factor for PSP. This result remained significant after adjusting for income, smoking, education and occupational exposures. This is the first case‐control study to demonstrate PSP is associated with environmental factors. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

A study of PSP in the general population found that it was linked to environmental factors. 

An illness resembling PSP is very common in Guam, sometimes in association with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and dementia. The cause of Guamanian PSP is unclear although it has been attributed to unusual dietary factors, possibly interaction with genetic factors (Cox and Sacks, 2002). Genetic factors do not appear to contribute substantially to the epidemic of PSP in Guam which "remains enigmatic" (Steel et al, 2015). Regarding diet, a high prevalence of PSP like illness has been found on the island of Guadeloupe in the French West Indies (Caparros-Lefebre, 1999). In this population, it is suspected that a PSP like illness is related to ingestion of native teas called "soursop" and "sweetsop", both of which are forms of the "custard apple". A toxin present in the diet of the Chamorros in Guam, i.e. cycad seeds, BMAA, has been shown to induce similar brain pathology to PSP in animals (Cox et al, 2015).

The references on this page included.

Bower JH, Maraganore DM, McDonnell SK, Rocca WA. Incidence of progressive supranuclear palsy and multiple system atrophy in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1976-1990. Neurology 1997:49:1284-1288

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9371909/

this looked to be a general study on the incidence of PSP in this region. I found no other geographical references apart from the previously mentioned Guam & G'loupe

co-morbidity

PSP can overlap with MSA (multiple systems atrophy) as well, which is not a tauopathy but rather it involves accumulation of alpha-synuclein.

Epidemiology of progressive supranuclear palsy

Recently, a cluster of PSP and atypical parkinsonism has been observed in French Antilles [Guadeloupe]. The hypothesis is that a consumption of both tropical fruit and herbal tea may be associated with PSP onset.

Conclusions: Our preliminary findings suggest a higher prevalence of PSP than expected. One
potential explanation could be the long history of steel industry in this region.

The conclusion then references the Wattrelos paper by Caparros-Lefebvre

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