The relevance of developmental neurotoxicity research in Malaysia

The developing brain is found greatly vulnerable towards the exposure of different environmental chemicals/drugs, even at concentrations, that are normally considered harmless in the mature brain. The developing central nervous system (CNS) is a ‘work under progress’ system, constantly undergoing re...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wan Ibrahim, Wan Norhamidah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Microscopy Society Malaysia 2015
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/75595/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/75595/1/The%20relevance%20of%20developmental%20neurotoxicity%20research%20in%20Malaysia.pdf
_version_ 1848857732778557440
author Wan Ibrahim, Wan Norhamidah
author_facet Wan Ibrahim, Wan Norhamidah
author_sort Wan Ibrahim, Wan Norhamidah
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The developing brain is found greatly vulnerable towards the exposure of different environmental chemicals/drugs, even at concentrations, that are normally considered harmless in the mature brain. The developing central nervous system (CNS) is a ‘work under progress’ system, constantly undergoing remodeling, where active proliferation, differentiation, migration, synaptogenesis, and circuitry establishment take place within a tightly controlled time frame. An accumulating body of evidence pointing to links between toxic chemicals, including food contaminants with different neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders such as autism, dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, cerebral palsy, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and IQ deficits. The impact of children’s IQ deficits is sometimes dismissed as unimportant because the magnitude of the impairments is considered to be clinically insignificant. Noteworthy, total economic loss in Asia in 2011 due to childhood Lead exposure was estimated around RM 26 trillion. This represents a very substantial value to the society where the largest burden of lead exposure is now borne by low- and middle-income countries. Thus, testing of compounds for neurotoxicity has become increasingly important in recent years. In Malaysia, developmental neurotoxicity research is a new field. To date, a large body of evidence showing that our environment and food was contaminated with pollutants. Also, the number of neurodevelopmental disorders and IQ deficits are keep on increasing. Taken together, we already have adequate reasons to start research works related to the developmental neurotoxicity research in Malaysia. However, the effort should be orchestrated together with researchers from different fields with a proper planning and research agendas to guarantee an achievable final goal, protecting our future generation from the ‘silent damage’ of those toxic chemicals. Developmental neurotoxicity research pivotal for formulating effective guidelines and strategies to limit the exposure to hazardous chemicals, especially towards the developing nervous system.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T12:02:14Z
format Article
id upm-75595
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-15T12:02:14Z
publishDate 2015
publisher Microscopy Society Malaysia
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling upm-755952019-11-12T02:28:19Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/75595/ The relevance of developmental neurotoxicity research in Malaysia Wan Ibrahim, Wan Norhamidah The developing brain is found greatly vulnerable towards the exposure of different environmental chemicals/drugs, even at concentrations, that are normally considered harmless in the mature brain. The developing central nervous system (CNS) is a ‘work under progress’ system, constantly undergoing remodeling, where active proliferation, differentiation, migration, synaptogenesis, and circuitry establishment take place within a tightly controlled time frame. An accumulating body of evidence pointing to links between toxic chemicals, including food contaminants with different neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders such as autism, dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, cerebral palsy, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and IQ deficits. The impact of children’s IQ deficits is sometimes dismissed as unimportant because the magnitude of the impairments is considered to be clinically insignificant. Noteworthy, total economic loss in Asia in 2011 due to childhood Lead exposure was estimated around RM 26 trillion. This represents a very substantial value to the society where the largest burden of lead exposure is now borne by low- and middle-income countries. Thus, testing of compounds for neurotoxicity has become increasingly important in recent years. In Malaysia, developmental neurotoxicity research is a new field. To date, a large body of evidence showing that our environment and food was contaminated with pollutants. Also, the number of neurodevelopmental disorders and IQ deficits are keep on increasing. Taken together, we already have adequate reasons to start research works related to the developmental neurotoxicity research in Malaysia. However, the effort should be orchestrated together with researchers from different fields with a proper planning and research agendas to guarantee an achievable final goal, protecting our future generation from the ‘silent damage’ of those toxic chemicals. Developmental neurotoxicity research pivotal for formulating effective guidelines and strategies to limit the exposure to hazardous chemicals, especially towards the developing nervous system. Microscopy Society Malaysia 2015 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/75595/1/The%20relevance%20of%20developmental%20neurotoxicity%20research%20in%20Malaysia.pdf Wan Ibrahim, Wan Norhamidah (2015) The relevance of developmental neurotoxicity research in Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Microscopy, 11 (Supp 1). pp. 11-12. ISSN 1823-7010
spellingShingle Wan Ibrahim, Wan Norhamidah
The relevance of developmental neurotoxicity research in Malaysia
title The relevance of developmental neurotoxicity research in Malaysia
title_full The relevance of developmental neurotoxicity research in Malaysia
title_fullStr The relevance of developmental neurotoxicity research in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed The relevance of developmental neurotoxicity research in Malaysia
title_short The relevance of developmental neurotoxicity research in Malaysia
title_sort relevance of developmental neurotoxicity research in malaysia
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/75595/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/75595/1/The%20relevance%20of%20developmental%20neurotoxicity%20research%20in%20Malaysia.pdf