Monsanto's Roundup Associated With Serious Liver Disease, Study Finds

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Jan. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Parker Waichman LLP, a national law firm dedicated to protecting the rights of victims injured by toxic substances, is commenting on emerging research tying Monsanto's Roundup to a deadly liver disease; Roundup is typically used on food crops and gardens. The research was led by Dr. Michael Antoniou, of Kings College, London, who said the findings raise serious concerns for human health, according to a Daily Mail report dated January 9, 2017. Researchers found that even very small amounts of glyphosate, Roundup's main ingredient, led to fatty liver diseases in rats who were tested for two years with tiny amounts of the toxin. Dr. Antoniou has asked regulators in the United Kingdom to reconsider using Monsanto's Roundup on farms and to bear in mind glyphosate's risk to humans due to food residues containing the toxin.

Glyphosate is often used is in genetically modified farming, especially on crops that include soy and corn, which have been enhanced to withstand spraying with Roundup. Because of this, farmers continually spray their crops with Monsanto's glyphosate-containing Roundup to kill weeds while allowing the modified food plants to survive. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is typically found in overweight or obese individuals. Symptoms include abdominal pain, appetite loss, fatigue, fluid build-up, jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), leg swelling, nausea, and spider-like blood vessels, according to Dr. Antoniou, who added that, "The findings of our study are very worrying as they demonstrate for the first time a causative link between an environmentally relevant level of Roundup consumption over the long-term and a serious disease." He added that, "Our results also suggest that regulators should reconsider the safety evaluation of glyphosate-based herbicides," according to the Daily Mail.

Parker Waichman LLP notes that nearly 40 legal actions have been filed against Monsanto in the Unites States in the Roundup Products Liability Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) No. 2741. Lawsuits all similarly allege that Roundup causes non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and that their deceased loved ones developed the cancer after using Roundup for just a few years.

The study entitled "Multiomics reveal non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in rats following chronic exposure to an ultra-low dose of Roundup herbicide" used a glyphosate dose well below what humans are exposed to in the daily environment and thousands of times less that what is allowed by regulators, according to a Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) report published January 9, 2017.

The British study was peer-reviewed and is the first to identify a risk to human health and experts at King's College used what the Daily Mail described as "cutting edge profiling methods," according to Dr. Robin Mesnage, a research associate at Kings. "The concentration of glyphosate that was added to the drinking water of the rats corresponds to a concentration found in tap water for human consumption." The rats' livers were examined at a molecular level and revealed evidence of cell damage, serious fatty liver disease, and areas of dead tissue or necrosis. The researchers concluded that, "The study is unique in that it is the first to show a causative link between consumption of Roundup at a real-world environmental dose and a serious disease condition. These results demonstrate that long-term consumption of an ultra-low, environmentally relevant dose of Roundup … results in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Regulators worldwide accept toxicity studies in rats as indicators of human health risks. Therefore, the results of this latest study may have serious consequences for human health." The full research was published in Scientific Reports.

Génon K. Jensen, Executive Director of the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), a consumer advocacy also said that, "Glyphosate is already classified by" the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) "as a 'probable carcinogen'" and "is also described as a 'potential endocrine disrupting chemical'…. Given people's unavoidable exposures from the massive increase in the use of these weed killers over the past 30 years, surely it is time to ban it on precautionary grounds?" Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) reported. Following the classification, a number of European Union (EU) countries took action, including Malta, France, the Netherlands, and Denmark.

"The findings of this new research are expected to bring increased attention to glyphosate, Monsanto's Roundup, and the related serious harm to human health," said Keith Gitman, Managing Director of Parker Waichman LLP.

If You Are Considering a Monsanto Roundup Herbicide

Parker Waichman LLP offers free consultations to individuals diagnosed with cancer, allegedly due to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. For more information, please visit the firm's Roundup Leukemia page at www.yourlawyer.com.  Free evaluations are also available by calling 1-800-LAW-INFO.

Media Contact:
Keith Gitman
516,466-6500
[email protected]

SOURCE Parker Waichman LLP

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