Exposure to Chemical in Roundup Increases Long Term Brain Damage, Study Finds

Even short-term Roundup exposure led to brain inflammation, anxiety and early death in mice test subjects, researchers warn.

Exposure to the widely used and controversial weed killer Roundup may be linked to the development of mental degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, according to the findings of a new study.

Researchers from Arizona State University and the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in California report that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, may increase inflammation in the brain in mice. Their findings were published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation on December 4, suggesting that the chemical could also increase the risks of neurodegenerative diseases among humans.

Roundup and glyphosate have been widely used for decades in the agricultural industry, as well as for residential purposes as a weed killer. Although it has been marketed as safe for humans, research over the last several years has linked Roundup exposure to an increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other forms of cancer.

As a result of the manufacturers’ failure to warn about the potential cancer risks, Bayer and its Monsanto subsidiary have faced more than 120,000 Roundup lawsuits, each raising similar allegations that users developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from the weed killer, either when using the product in an agricultural setting or around the home.

In the process of spending more than $10 billion in Roundup settlements, Bayer announced in 2021 that it would reformulate Roundup and remove the active ingredient glyphosate from consumer versions of the weed killer. However, glyphosate is still in the formulation for agricultural users.

In the new study, a team of researchers looked at the effects of glyphosate on mice, indicating that the active ingredient in Roundup induced neuroinflammation in some and exacerbated it in mice already diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

According to the findings, the researchers determined that glyphosate exposure can cause long-term brain inflammation and can accelerate the development of Alzheimer’s disease in mice, even if the exposure was only short-term. The researchers observed that exposed mice displayed anxiety behavior and an increased risk of early death. This occurred even in mice who were given six months to recover from the exposure.

The researchers indicated that the mechanism of action could be aminomethylphosphonic acid, a glyphosate metabolite that builds up in brain tissue.

“Taken together, our results are the first to demonstrate that despite an extended recovery period, exposure to glyphosate elicits long-lasting pathological consequences,” the researchers concluded. “As glyphosate use continues to rise, more research is needed to elucidate the impact of this herbicide and its metabolites on the human brain, and their potential to contribute to dysfunctions observed in neurodegenerative diseases.”