Environmental Links to the Development of PBC - PBC Foundation

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Environmental Links to the Development of PBC

dianekjs profile image
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New research supports an environmental trigger in the development of PBC.

medpagetoday.com/clinical-c...

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dianekjs
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10 Replies
gmo3352 profile image
gmo3352

Thank you Dianekjs for this post. It gave me such hope! I worry so that the disease is genetic, and that my family is a risk. If the trigger for the disease is environmental and triggered by certain chemicals like those in pain relief meds as the article seems to imply, a cure must be close, and I didn't pass on some awful disease to my loves...

dianekjs profile image
dianekjs in reply to gmo3352

The article does say that there is a genetic predisposition with an environmental trigger, so family members may be predisposed. However, that could be valuable information for them to develop and maintain a lifestyle that is as toxin-free as possible. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen, chemical exposures, etc. can all be minimized to reduce chances of it developing. Best of luck!

Della_Williams profile image
Della_Williams

Interesting article. Growing up we used a lot of cleaning chemicals including ammonia and to this day I still love the smell of bleach. It makes you wonder now. I can definitely see the acetametaphine aspect of it. That makes sense to me. I actually mentioned to my doctor a few weeks ago how NyQuil knocked me out for 14-16 hours, I was in a drunken state and I could no longer take it. She said not to take anything with acetametaphine (even 2 g of Tylenol is taboo for me now). If we have to take something for a cold, she said to take DayQuil instead. Growing up in the Midwest (Chicago), one pulmonary doctor once told me he sees people with nodules in their lungs which I have just for living in this part of the world. I probably got PBC from every angle, can't win! But I can still fight it! Thanks for sharing this link Diane. Ivette, Chicago 

jrobertson1 profile image
jrobertson1

Excellent article from properly peer - reviewed paper. Have often wondered if prolonged exposure to xylene may have triggered my PBC. Hopefully, future work may identify toxins to avoid for those who may be genetically  predisposed to the condition.. Thank you 

butterflyEi profile image
butterflyEi

I needed a dictionary to try to understand some of this article yet it is a very interesting one.  However I do wonder how many sufferers of PBC have taken painkillers on a regular basis.  For myself I was lucky to be a very healthy female adult with little or no use of pain killers especially in terms of a monthly need.  So for me this does not point me in the direction of the cause of my environmental factor.

Interesting article, thank you for posting.  I was slightly confused over the terminology  but soon worked out it was a common pain reliever. 

 I would not say I had that much need to take the normal strength tablets that you can purchase over the counter as I got older , but as a child growing up I suffered a lot of painful ENT problems that needed pain killers "mostly prescribed" and at its worst before I had my tonsils removed it was almost continuous infections. 

 So although I was never a high user of OTC medications it's possible it's not the amount that's the issue but more about being genetically predisposed to any amount and did all those ear infections growing up as a child have some impact. I will keep an open mind and hope the researchers continue their work.  In my line of work I also had exposure to chemicals which was another line of thinking for me. 

dianekjs profile image
dianekjs in reply to

The article was mainly referencing Acetaminophen as one illustration of an environmental trigger for the development of PBC. It was making the broader point, however, that it appears likely that there is an environmental trigger involved - it could be acetaminophen in one person, chronic exposure to an industrial chemical in another, or perhaps long-term use of a certain cosmetic in another. As the saying goes, genetics loads the gun and environment pulls the trigger. The trigger may vary significantly from one individual to another, along with genetic makeup.

Angelsww profile image
Angelsww

isn't his review based on the research paper written in 2013?

If not can someone send me a link to the research paper?

dianekjs profile image
dianekjs in reply to Angelsww

No, 2016. Here you go: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Angelsww profile image
Angelsww in reply to dianekjs

thankyou- will have a read when my concentration is better

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