Klein Gordon L
Children's Hospital Room 3.270, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston TX 77555-0352, USA.
Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2005 Dec;5(6):637-40. doi: 10.1016/j.coph.2005.07.005. Epub 2005 Sep 28.
The aluminum problem is now over 25 years old, but has remained a neglected concern. Data indicate that aluminum contaminates much of the raw material used to manufacture solutions used for intravenous nutritional support of hospitalized and ambulatory patients, and that pharmaceutical manufacturers have only recently obtained the technology necessary to detect aluminum contamination of their products. As a result, aluminum bypassed normal barriers and entered the blood, accumulating in tissues such as bone, liver and the central nervous system with toxic consequences. Now that the FDA has finally issued a rule governing aluminum contamination in these solutions, manufacturers will need to develop methods to minimize such contamination; scientists should also realize that when data they obtain indicate a serious problem in the manufacturing sector they should be sure that the problem is properly addressed.
