New Study Shows Weed Killer Glyphosate Causes ‘Significant Brain Inflammation,’ Increases Neurodegenerative Disease

The following report is a press release by the Arizona State University:

Environmental exposure to toxins in the air, water or certain chemicals can increase the risk of ill health effects, including to the human brain.

The human brain is an incredibly adaptable organ, often able to heal itself, even from significant trauma. Yet for the first time, new research shows even brief contact with a common weed killer can cause lasting damage to the brain, which may persist long after direct exposure ends.

In the new study, Arizona State University researcher Ramon Velazquez and his team demonstrate that exposure to an active ingredient in weed and grass killers, called glyphosate, can result in significant brain inflammation, and increase the risk of neurodegenerative disease and Alzheimer’s-like effects.

“Our work contributes to the growing literature highlighting the brain’s vulnerability to glyphosate,” Velazquez says. “Given the increasing incidence of cognitive decline in the aging population, particularly in rural communities where exposure to glyphosate is more common due to large-scale farming, there is an urgent need for more basic research on the effects of this herbicide.”

The research was published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation. Velazquez is a researcher with the ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center at the ASU Biodesign Institute and an assistant professor with the School of Life Sciences.

Velazquez’s team performed the work in collaboration with the Translational Genomics Research Institute, or TGen, part of City of Hope, and used mice to model glyphosate exposure. They showed that brains may be much more susceptible to the damaging effects of the herbicide than previously thought. Glyphosate is the most common chemical herbicide used in the global market.

The study tracked both the presence and impact of glyphosate’s byproducts in the brain long after exposure ends, showing an array of persistent, damaging effects on brain health.

Glyphosate exposure also resulted in neuroinflammation, Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, and premature death and anxiety-like behaviors, replicating others studies.

The researchers tested two levels of glyphosate exposure: a high dose, similar to levels used in earlier research, and a lower dose that is close to the limit used to establish the current acceptable dose in humans. Furthermore, the scientists discovered these symptoms persisted long after a six-month recovery period in which exposure was discontinued.

This lower dose still led to harmful effects in the brains of mice, even after exposure ceased for months. While reports show that most Americans are exposed to glyphosate daily, these results show that even a short period could potentially cause neurological damage.

By proxy, the study raises serious concerns about the chemical’s safety for human populations.

According to the Centers for Disease Research, farm laborers, landscape workers and others employed in agriculture are more likely to be exposed to glyphosate through inhalation or skin contact. Additionally, the new findings suggest that ingestion of glyphosate residues on foods sprayed with the herbicide potentially poses a health hazard. Most people living in the U.S. have been exposed to glyphosate during their lifetime.

“My hope is that our work drives further investigation into the effects of glyphosate exposure, which may lead to a reexamination of its long-term safety and perhaps spark discussion about other prevalent toxins in our environment that may affect the brain,” said Samantha Bartholomew, an ASU PhD candidate and first author on the paper.

The team’s findings build on earlier ASU research that demonstrates a link between glyphosate exposure and a heightened risk for neurodegenerative disorders. The earlier study showed that glyphosate was able to cross the blood-brain barrier, a protective layer that typically prevents potentially harmful substances from entering the brain. Once glyphosate breaches this barrier, it can interact with brain tissue and contribute to neuroinflammation and other harmful effects on neural function.

Current regulations allow for the use of a pesticide on food crops. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets a tolerance or limit on how much pesticide residue can legally remain on food and feed products. The EPA considers certain levels of glyphosate safe for human exposure, asserting that the chemical is minimally absorbed into the body and is primarily excreted unchanged.

However, recent studies, including this one, may change that perception and raise questions about existing safety thresholds, and whether glyphosate use is safe at all.

“Herbicides are used heavily and ubiquitously around the world,” said co-author Patrick Pirrotte, an associate professor in TGen’s Early Detection and Prevention Division, director of the Integrated Mass Spectrometry Shared Resource at TGen and City of Hope, and senior author of the paper. 

“These findings highlight that many chemicals we regularly encounter, previously considered safe, may pose potential health risks. However, further research is needed to fully assess the public health impact and identify safer alternatives,” he said.

“Our goal is to identify environmental factors that contribute to the rising prevalence of cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases in our society,” Velazquez said. “By unveiling such factors, we can develop strategies to minimize exposures, ultimately improving the quality of life for the growing aging population.”

The National Institutes on Aging, National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health and ASU Biodesign Institute funded this study.

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AUTHOR COMMENTARY

Farming publications have already started to try and talk down the results.

Mouthpieces for big-ag companies such as Ag Daily have tried to disparage the study, writing:

“The results of his work are probably less meaningful in everyday circumstances than any research buzz would have people believe. That’s partly because the study authors dosed the treatment groups at far more extreme levels than is ever seen in real-world situations.

“Glyphosate is one of the most-studied herbicides in history, and nearly all scientific bodies and associated research have affirmed the safety of glyphosate.”

While it be true that mega-dosing rats with glyphosate might not be realistic, the reality is there are tons of studies that show its debilitating effects on people’s health; and even if the amount ingested is super tiny, excessive and repeated exposure and ingestion will assuredly cause problems over time. Take a look at our sickly population and the ungodly amount of money spent on healthcare annually, and you’ll get the idea.

Even though Roundup comes with all sorts of safety and toxicity warnings, the perpetuated lie that the tiny bits in our food and water are perfectly “safe” now. It’s comical.

Unfortunately, most people will not see or care about this study, and therefore this will not “change that perception” that this chemical is toxic and deadly, and is slowly rotting away at people. While some younger Americans are increasingly becoming aware as to how toxic our food is, the majority are not going to fuss about it and demand better for themselves, and their children and their neighbors.

SEE: CDC Study Says Glyphosate Was Found In 80% Of Urine Samples Of Americans

Crooked Judge And Lawmakers Reduce $1.5 Billion Jury Verdict Against Bayer’s Monsanto Amidst Raft Of Lawsuits For Glyphosate

You should go organic to reduce exposure to chemicals such as glyphosate, though the trustworthiness of the USDA Organic seal is definitely in doubt these days. SEE: Ways To Find Truly Organic Foods Versus Mislabeled And Corporatized ‘Organic Alchemy

Definitely network with farms that do not spray their crops with toxic chemicals, and ally yourself with farmers who raise their livestock the correct way that does not involve vaccination and improper feeding and living conditions.

3 John 2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

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[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).

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