Drawing on extensive experience in pathology, Dr. Dennis Hooper has dedicated much of his career to exploring the impact of environmental toxins on the human body. In addition to serving for multiple decades as a chief pathologist in the U.S. Navy, Dr. Dennis Hooper has assisted cause-of-death investigations as an expert legal witness. He currently oversees mycotoxin and mold research as the medical director of Real Time Laboratories in Dallas, Texas.
In recent decades, the medical community has recognized mycotoxin-producing mold as a potential source of serious health issues, identifying exposure to environments such as water-damaged buildings as a contributor to mycotoxin-related disease. In 2013, Dr. Hooper and his colleagues completed a study investigating the role that mold mycotoxins play in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
Characterized by persistent mental and physical exhaustion that does not improve with sleep, chronic fatigue syndrome has no single cause and can correspond with a number of other physical and psychological conditions. However, Dr. Hooper and his team discovered a link between CFS and mycotoxin exposure by examining urine samples from patients suffering from the condition. Using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assays, the researchers tested the samples for the presence of aflatoxins, macrocyclic trichothecenes, and ochratoxin A, and found at least one mycotoxin present in the samples of 93 percent of patients. Found at a rate of 83 percent, ochratoxin A was the most common mycotoxin, and nearly 30 percent of the tested urine samples indicated exposure to more than one mycotoxin variety.
The study also included the documentation of patients’ mold exposure histories. Researchers found that over 90 percent of the patients had current or previous exposure to water-damaged buildings, and upon environmental testing, they found that a number of the cited environments contained potentially toxic species of mold.
In recent decades, the medical community has recognized mycotoxin-producing mold as a potential source of serious health issues, identifying exposure to environments such as water-damaged buildings as a contributor to mycotoxin-related disease. In 2013, Dr. Hooper and his colleagues completed a study investigating the role that mold mycotoxins play in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
Characterized by persistent mental and physical exhaustion that does not improve with sleep, chronic fatigue syndrome has no single cause and can correspond with a number of other physical and psychological conditions. However, Dr. Hooper and his team discovered a link between CFS and mycotoxin exposure by examining urine samples from patients suffering from the condition. Using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assays, the researchers tested the samples for the presence of aflatoxins, macrocyclic trichothecenes, and ochratoxin A, and found at least one mycotoxin present in the samples of 93 percent of patients. Found at a rate of 83 percent, ochratoxin A was the most common mycotoxin, and nearly 30 percent of the tested urine samples indicated exposure to more than one mycotoxin variety.
The study also included the documentation of patients’ mold exposure histories. Researchers found that over 90 percent of the patients had current or previous exposure to water-damaged buildings, and upon environmental testing, they found that a number of the cited environments contained potentially toxic species of mold.