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EHPnet: American Thyroid AssociationAuthor(s): Erin E. DooleySource: Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 111, No. 12 (Sep., 2003), p. A637Published by: Brogan & PartnersStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3435444 .

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Forum

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.21

AMERICAN

THYROID

ASSOCIATION

FOUNDED 1923

ehpnet American Thyroid Association

The thyroid plays an important role in human health, regulating metabolism, body temperature, growth and development, and organ functions including heart rate and blood pressure. Thyroid disorders affect an estimated 200 million people worldwide, with women affect? ed eight times more than men. Recent studies suggest that even more

people may be affected because of undiagnosed or misdiagnosed thy? roid problems.

The American Thyroid Association (ATA), based in Falls Church, Virginia, is a professional society that promotes research, public aware-

ness, and improved diagnosis, treatment, and policy for thyroid diseases. The ATA has created its website, located at http://www.thyroid.org/, to educate researchers, health care providers, and the general public about its work.

The site's homepage features information on upcoming meetings (including the group's 75th annual meeting in October), workshops, and accreditation courses, both in the United States and abroad. To help

practitioners, researchers, and patients stay

?abreast

of new developments, the site offers recent news items and ATA press releases on

subjects including advances in thyroid treat? ment and announcements from such organ? izations as the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

In the Professionals section of the site is a listing of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes that the ATA has recommended to Medicare for labora?

tory testing for thyroid dysfunction, as well as National Academy of Clinical Biochem?

istry guidelines developed to help clinicians better diagnose these

problems. These guidelines present preanalytic factors that must be taken into account when a patient presents with abnormal levels of

thyroid hormones and an in-depth overview of the laboratory tests used in this field.

The section's Other Sites of Professional Interest link has information on patient support organizations, educational materials, international

thyroid and endocrinology societies, and pharmaceutical companies that

develop and sell medications for thyroid treatment. The Potassium lodide Information link yields resources related to the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics that parents, schools, and child care centers within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant have ready access to potassium iodide tablets, which can protect children against thyroid cancer in the event of radiation exposure.

Visitors can access the ATA's three official publications through the ATA Publications link on the Professionals page. Published three times each year, Clinical Thyroidology summarizes and comments on recent?

ly released thyroid research from joumals around the world, and is available free of charge in PDF format. The ATA's monthly peer- reviewed research journal, Thyroid, and its newsletter, Signal, are avail? able on the members-only portion of the website.

The Public & Patients section of the ATA website is provided for

laypeople wanting to learn more about thyroid-related health condi? tions. Located here are resources on potassium iodide, frequently asked questions on the most common thyroid diseases, more detailed brochures and booklets (available as PDFs), and a listing of books of interest. Links to patient support organizations also are available here, and patients can follow the Find a Specialist link to access a clickable U.S. map and a pull-down list of other countries. -Erin E. Dooley

L_

The Beat

Well-Traveled Dust

In March 2003, U.S. and French scientists reported in Geophysical Research Letters that dust from China's Takla Makan Desert had been found in the French Alps. Dust originating in China has touched down in North America and Greenland, but this work is the first evidence that such ^ ^- ^^ :i; plumes have reached ^^jLllL"

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Europe. Global dust storms iJB^j^gijSfr^ -**_!?i

by analyzing its mineral *?f* |jfl* and isotope makeup, and *- ^-* ^*_js___D _-_____> used computer-based models and data from NASA's Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System to show it had traveled more than 20,000 km during the period 25 February-7 March 1990. Much of this traveling dust has been attributed to widespread desertification in Mongolia and northwestern China.

North America Cans Chlordane

On 26 June 2003, the three North American environmental agencies announced that, through efforts coordinated by the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation (NACEC), chlordane production and use has been eliminated continentwide. Once used on crops and lawns and in furniture factories to kill termites, chlordane is a persistent organic pollutant and has been classified by the U.S. EPA as a probable human carcinogen.

Following U.S. and Canadian chlordane bans in 1995, NACEC and EPA scientists worked with Mexico's National Institute of Ecology to develop and promote cost-effective methods for testing and monitoring chlordane use in Mexico and to educate farmers and furniture makers on viable alternatives. Mexico's ban was complete in December 1998; officials held this announcement until studies confirmed that chlordane use had ended in Mexico.

Mold's Worst Friend

Europeans have long used dogs to sniff out indoor mold, which has been associated with hypersensi? tivity pneumonitis, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and asthma. Now, a New Jersey mold detection and removal company, Lab Results, is offering the services of its certified Mold Dog? free of charge, for a limited time, to elementary schools in surrounding metropolitan areas.

Currently there are 30 Mold Dogs in the United States. The dogs complete 800-1,000 hours of training and can detect as many as 18 different types of mold. Dogs can detect indoor mold more precisely and quickly than other methods, at a fraction ofthe price? about $5,000 for a five-room house.

Environmental Health Perspectives ? volume 1111 number 12 I September 2003 A 637

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