Does NutraSweet cause Cerebral Palsy?

Factual Questions
1

Okay, my boss where I work is usually an idiot who feels the need to say something ‘intelligent’ whenever we are having any sort of discussion. So…I have been on a Crystal Light faze, forcing me to drink more water so I can stay hydrated. So we are eating lunch and he notices I am drinking it and goes on to say that 1 out of every 25,000 people who take and form of NutraSweet ‘get cerebral palsy’. When I stated you can not CATCH cerebral palsy, he corrected himself and said the same symptoms as cerebral palsy.

Are there any statistics out there to back this up?

2

Here

here

3

Well, he’s wrong. But there is a link, but a rare one.

http://pedsinreview.aappublications.org/cgi/content/extract/19/6/214
"Phenylketonuria
Giosi Di Meglio, MD
Department of Pediatrics University of Rochester Rochester, NY
Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder occurring in 1 in 10,000 to 20,000 births. The absence of phenylalanine hydroxylase results in the accumulation of phenylalanine, its precursors, and its metabolites while at the same time causing tyrosine, the next step in the enzymatic pathway, to become an essential amino acid. The metabolic defect leads to reduced synthesis of a variety of neurotransmitters, serotonin being the most severely affected. Melanin synthesis also is inhibited, so that infants who have PKU are characteristically (though not always) fair-haired, fair-skinned, and blue-eyed.
Early in life, these infants may be asymptomatic or may present with severe vomiting, irritability, eczema, or a musty or mousy odor of the urine. When untreated, the disorder results in profound mental retardation, with intelligence quotient (IQ) scores below 30. Neurologic impairment ranges from neurologically intact (one third of cases) to some hypertonicity (one third) to spastic cerebral palsy (one third). Seizures occur in 25% of patients, usually those who are most profoundly retarded.

A low-phenylalanine diet can modify the natural history of the disease. Early, strict restriction of phenylalanine intake can result in normal . . "

I researched this for you, and it seems that unless you have this VERY rare disorder, you’re safe- as far as Nutrasweet and CB goes that is. Let me say this- on Google Scholar, that was about the only link. (some links from WHO suggesting Aspartame to prevent dental caries, etc, but nothing linking the Nutrisweet and Cerebral Palsy)

To present the opposite side, I give this link. I think these dudes not only wear tinfoil hats, but tinfoil underwear, so get out a whole fucking box of rock salt before you go there.
http://www.rxfreekids.org/cond_cerebralpalsy.asp

4

and here

5

I would think if this were true we would be constantly bombarded by commercials from tort lawyers giving a number to call if we had ever so much as had one packet of the stuff.

6

Some of this “evidence” (including the misleading Wikipedia entry) should be viewed against the large number of studies and record of long-term use of aspartame that do not demonstrate health problems, and the continuing Internet scaremongering about the sweetener.

More here.

7

How odd… I could have sworn the wiki page I linked to did not reference it as a threat when I last viewed the page several weeks ago. The intent of the wiki reference (as with my other links) was to illustrate it is not a threat.

8

Cerebral palsy isn’t aquired by adults. It’s often caused by perinatal illness or injury. It’s a birth defect of sorts.

9

I totally understand that, and he changed his views after I pointed this out. He ended the statement by saying that 1 out of every 25,000 people who use NutraSweet aquire cerebral palsy like symptoms.

Thanks for the link everyone. Now I have to find a tactful way to tell this guy he is an idiot.

10

The “anti-Nutrasweet” people claim it causes every negative condition in the universe–“Michael J. Fox has Parkinson’s because he did those Diet Pepsi commercials” type of reasoning.

11

The “aspartame is evil” meme is astoundingly widespread. Google for “aspartame syndrome” to get an idea. Then look for the same articles with “sucralose” substituted for “aspartame” to get an idea of the level of careful research and fact checking that’s being done.

Anyway, here’s snopes saying it’s all bunk, and quoting a bunch of actual science.
Here

12

I was involved with that wikipedia page a while back… it was virtually impossible to maintain against multitudes of scaremongers inserting exactly the same shit over and over. There were many more of them than me, they had more time than me, therefore they won. A prime example of why Wikipedia is a useful starting point but must in all cases be taken with a Rubik’s-cube-sized grain of salt.

13

Unless- as per my cite- you have “Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder” which only occurs “in 1 in 10,000 to 20,000 births”- in that case, I’d stay away from it. Or more likely, your kid has PKU, and you have to keep him away from the stuff.

Very rare and your Pediatrician will likely give you full instructions on what to do.

14

An excellent point, I should have mentioned that. It’s also marginal “evidence” (in a casual, rather than scientific sense) that aspartame is otherwise safe: they found and identified the really, incredibly rare case – how likely is it they missed people’s brains exploding every time they sipped a nutrasweetened drink?

15

Slight hijack–I have a soft place in my heart for aspartame. A cow-orker in the late 1990’s gave me a printout showing how her friend got Lupus from aspartame. It included all the standard scarelore/pseudo-scientific cites. I came home that night and found snopes, and a bit later the SDMB. Changed MY life, anyway.

16

Absolutely right, and cancer too! :rolleyes:

Everything causes cancer (in large enough quantities>) :wink: