NASA and Disease Cluster

North America Disease Cluster, NASA Simulations Goddard Space Flight Center

Last Updated on December 12, 2017 by Patricia Carter

SUMMARY:  The dream is to meld the two technologies: disease cluster, NASA!  That would be NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center AND  Goggle Maps simulated hotspots of high disease risk clustering!  This post is for repository but enjoy the NASA hurricane sand, water and air video, (see PDF explanation here) and PNAS High Disease Cluster Hotspots Map in North America!  The NASA technology could be used for a visual tool to help explain the disease cluster map considering air and water toxin transfer impact to disease risk. The disease cluster map is a simulated spatial distribution of disease risks, overlaid onto a base map of North America, retrieved March 11, 2011, from Google Maps.  Pink and red colors indicate simulated hotspots of high disease risk clustering.  See the related article by Wright and Wang on pages 5488–5491. The online link for the Hurricane Aerosol video is “2017 Hurricanes and Aerosols Simulation”.  This post is a follow-up to my post discussing all children exceeding cancer benchmark levels for certain toxins, and is for repository purposes.

Here are the reference links and some pics for disease cluster, NASA:  from the video and PNAS article on disease cluster in North America!

Thanks for reading up on simulations that in the future may mine air and water toxins for disease clustering health impact!

Best in Health through Awareness,

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 Last updated: December 12, 2017 at 12:17 pm editorial.

One thought on “North America Disease Cluster, NASA Simulations Goddard Space Flight Center”

  1. Environmental Exposures CME CNE CEU CHES Course
    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
    Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
    Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine
    DISEASE CLUSTERS:AN OVERVIEW Course: SS3096
    Date: August 2002 Expiration Date: September 30, 2008https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hec/csem/cluster/docs/clusters.pdf

    The clinician must also keep in mind that many organ systems are
    affected by toxic exposure (Table 1). Exposure and effects can be acute
    or chronic. The latency period from exposure to manifestation of disease
    can vary, ranging from immediate to delayed (hours or days) to
    prolonged (decades). See Appendix A for: Exposure History Form

    Table 1. Organs/Systems Often Affected by Toxic Exposure
    Organ/System Exposure Risks

    Respiratory: Asbestos, radon, cigarette smoke, glues

    Dermatologic: Dioxin, nickel, arsenic, mercury, cement (chromium), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), glues, rubber cement

    Liver: Carbon tetrachloride, methylene chloride, vinyl chloride

    Kidney: Cadmium, lead, mercury, chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents

    Cardiovascular: Carbon monoxide, noise, tobacco smoke, physical stress, carbon disulfide,
    nitrates, methylene chloride

    Reproductive: Methylmercury, carbon monoxide, lead, ethylene oxide

    Hematologic: Arsenic, benzene, nitrates, radiation

    Neuropsychologic: Tetrachloroethy

    Table 2. Examples* of Community Clusters Leading to the Identification of New ExposureDisease
    Relationships — Population Year Exposure — Outcomes
    Rural dwellers — 1928 Castor bean dust Asthma
    Harbor dwellers — 1989 Soybean dust Asthma
    Children and adults — 1979, Polychlorinated biphenyls Developmental, central, 1989 nervous system, lipid disorders
    Homosexual males — 1981 Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Pneumocystis carinii opportunistic infection
    Drug users — 1983 N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,5,6- Parkinson-like
    symptoms tetrahydropyridine
    Health food consumers — 1989 L-tryptophan (contaminated) Eosinophilia-myalgia
    Fish handlers and estuarine visitors — 1995 Pfiesteria piscicida Memory disturbance
    Dieters — 1997 Fenfluramine-Phentermine Valvular heart disease
    *More examples of clusters, and many more of sentinel events, are available.

    In case scenario 1, the possibility would be unlikely that the breast cancer was caused by exposures in the school, which has only been open for 4 years. Successful cluster investigations most often involve a high occurrence of uncommon diseases.

    In case scenario 3, the possibility would be unlikely that the cancers are directly related to living in the neighborhood. The latency period for cancer can be decades. Additionally, several confounding factors
    including smoking, family history of cancer (particularly breast cancer), and potential workplace exposures must be explored in the medical history, family history, and exposure history before attempting to consider
    that the cancer rates in this neighborhood are related to a neighborhood exposure.

    In case scenario 2, the possibility would be unlikely that the miscarriages are caused by the neighborhood.
    Spontaneous abortion occurs in 10%–14% of pregnancies in women. Statistically, it would be expected that
    spontaneous abortion would occur in 10–14 of 100 women. Recurrent spontaneous abortions (defined as the loss of three or more consecutive pregnancies) occur in about 3%–4% of these women. Most spontaneous
    abortions occur because of abnormalities in the fetus (Matorras et al. 1998).

Now I'd like to hear your thoughts... comments are always welcome!