Ann Aschengrau (
project 1) has responded to a new question submitted to our "
Ask the Researcher" forum.
Q. My wife was a child during her exposure to the contaminated drinking water at camp LeJeune. We have three children, the first was diagnosed with Oxidative Phosphorylation disorder. Have there been any studies looking at the offspring of females who had long term exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and associated by-products as children?
A.There are a few studies on the health effects of prenatal and early childhood exposure to tetrachloroethylene, but, to the best of our knowledge, no studies on possible health effects among their offspring. This means that there have been a few studies to determine if there are ill effects among people like your wife but there have not been any studies (yet) on individuals like your children. So far, our own studies on
Cape Cod do not show any adverse impact of PCE exposure during pregnancy or childhood on the risk of low birth weight, prematurity, and learning disabilities. However, we are continuing our research to determine if there are subtle neurological effects of prenatal and early childhood exposure.
To read her other responses or to learn more about Dr. Aschengrau's work please visit
her Ask the Researcher page. To submit a question to one of our researchers send an email to
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
.