Gurudutt Pendyala, PhD, Robert Lieberman Professor in the UNMC Department of Anesthesiology, received a $423,423 grant from the National Institutes of Health to research early life exposure to pyrethroids, a class of pesticides most commonly used in commercial agriculture.
Dr. Pendyala said environmental exposure to the pesticide affects children in rural communities and could be an underestimated leading cause of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
“There are many health risks associated with early exposure, and the risks are greater for children in agricultural communities,” said Dr. Pendyala. “The impact on Nebraska is very relevant, harming infants exposed in utero, passive transfer to young kids and adolescents working in the fields.”
Dr. Pendyala said the pyrethroid pesticide is a potent neurotoxin that creates ADHD-like behavior through disruption of dopamine, the toxicity in other areas of the brain has not been determined. His earlier work, including animal models of early life exposure to the pesticide deltamethrin, provides evidence that exposure disrupts brain-derived extracellular vesicles (BDEVs), molecules involved in communication between cells. Exposure to pyrethroids when young also disrupts hippocampus function, directly impacting memory and learning.
“Exposure can lead to behavioral issues often seen in children with ADHD, such as rage, anger and drug addiction,” Dr. Pendyala said. “These problems can persist into adulthood.”
The goal of the study is to test the hypothesis that BDEVs are altered by early exposure to DM, causing synaptic injury and impaired synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus.
Outcomes of this study will provide new insights into the molecular-based understanding of risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders, in addition to providing guidance for therapeutic development against exposure.