Mar. 2, 2001 Hanover, NH — A team of Dartmouth Medical School
investigators has uncovered what may be a unique mechanism for
the way chronic exposure to low levels of arsenic increases the
risk of certain diseases. The work is described in the March
issue of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Arsenic
at high doses has been known as the poison of choice since
ancient times. Recently, it has become clear that decades of
exposure to very low doses of arsenic — such as levels found in
drinking water in many areas of the United States — may
substantially increase the risk of vascular disease, diabetes
and several types of cancer. Until now, little was known about
how arsenic might contribute to these diseases, however. Using
cultured animal cells, a team led by toxicologist Joshua
Hamilton, director of Dartmouth's Toxic Metals Research Program,
found that exposure to very low concentrations of arsenic
disrupts the function of the glucocorticoid receptor, a steroid
hormone receptor that regulates a wide