Toxic chemical exposure as a cause of mitochondrial damage, a new factor common in chronic

illness that can be diagnosed by a single urine test.

By William Shaw, Ph.D.

One of the greatest difficulties in environmental medicine is deciding what testing needs to be done on
each patient. Patients almost always have been exposed to a wide array of toxic chemicals. Patient history
may not be able to reveal the array of chemicals to which patients have been exposed since many
chemicals are present in the food, water, air, and household products to which the majority of patients are
exposed. Comprehensive testing of multiple chemical screening tests may be so expensive that such
testing becomes out of the reach of the financial ability of many patients. To meet this need, a single urine
screening test has been developed for some of the most common chemicals in the environment including
phthalates, organophosphate pesticides, herbicides, contaminants in drinking water, dry cleaning solvents,
chemical degreasers, solvents like benzene, xylene, vinyl chloride, pyrethin insecticides, cosmetic
additives, polystyrene, and toxic gasoline additives. Application of this testing has revealed that toxic
exposure from a wide range of chemicals is commonly associated with metabolic indicators of
mitochondrial damage, resulting in severe loss of energy production and premature senescence and cell
death. These metabolic indicators of mitochondrial damage are also tested in the same simple urine test.
Many toxic chemicals cause the increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which cause
mitochondrial DNA (mt DNA) damage. Mitochondrial damage or dysfunction is associated with a wide
array of diseases including schizophrenia, bipolar disease, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy,
migraine headaches, strokes, neuropathic pain, Parkinson's disease, ataxia, transient ischemic attack,
cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, retinitis pigmentosa,
diabetes, hepatitis C, and primary biliary cirrhosis. The new toxic chemical screen is useful for measuring
the therapeutic efficacy of different therapies for detoxification as well as measuring the improvement in
mitochondrial function during detoxification. Examples of the value of such testing in autism, Parkinson’s
syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome and other disorders will be given.

Learning Objectives:
1. To prevent health impairment, assist in the assessment of risk, and to help evaluate the effectiveness
of environmental controls.

2. Describe the practical items to help in controlling environmental exposures

3. Describe the manifestations of chemical toxicity and sensitivity from mutiple chemicals such as
pesticides, solvents, and heavy metals in major biological systems, including neurotoxicity and
immunotoxicity

4. Discuss the available methods for detecting chemical contamination of the environment

5. To enhance the understanding of multiple impacts of environmental exposures to your patients health.

6. To provide practical solutions for the patient to control their exposure to common environmental and
chemical pollutants and learn how to detoxify if exposed
References:
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Biography:
Dr. William Shaw received his Ph.D. in biochemistry and human physiology from the Medical University of South Carolina. He is board
certified in the fields of clinical chemistry and toxicology by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry. He has supervised large
endocrinology, nutritional biochemistry, and toxicology and immunology departments in positions at the Center for Disease Control (CDC)
and Smith Kline Laboratories in Atlanta.
He was the director of Clinical Chemistry, Endocrinology and Toxicology at Children's Mercy Hospital, the teaching hospital of the
University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Medicine.

Dr. Shaw is the Director of The Great Plains Laboratory for Health, Nutrition, and Metabolism, a laboratory specializing in the diagnosis and
treatment of metabolic disorders of adults and children along with Autism, PDD, hyperactivity, inborn errors of metabolism, and adult
disorders such as Depression, Fibromyalgia, and Chronic Fatigue.