In New Jersey, in the United States, authorities are investigating the relationship between the various diagnoses of brain tumors with a local school. It all started when scientist Al Lupiano, a former student of the Colonia High School, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the late 1990s.
However, distrust of him began last year when his wife and his sister, who died in February, were also diagnosed with brain tumors. So, Al Lupiano started looking for reasons that had led people so close to him to develop the same disease. In this article, we talk more about the case, so check it out in full to understand more about the topic!
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When trying to understand the coincidence or not of the presence of tumors, he came to the conclusion that they had all attended the same school, Colonia High School, and there could be some explanation.
After that, Al Lupiano created a Facebook group to contact other people who attended the school to see if there were any other reports of the disease. In all, 94 people, including alumni and staff, had developed rare brain tumors.
It is still not known exactly what caused the brain tumors, only that it has nothing to do with water, air or soil. Next, we'll discuss a little more about diagnosing brain tumors and how they can impact the lives of Colonia High School alumni.
Well, generally speaking, a brain tumor is a cancerous or non-cancerous mass of abnormal cells in the brain. In the case of Colonia High School alumni, the type of tumor most diagnosed was glioblastoma, which is a cancerous tumor.
This type of tumor is rare and affects about 3.21 out of every 100,000 people, so school really does play a role in diagnoses. Glioblastoma is a type of malignant tumor that attacks the Central Nervous System and can affect the brain or spinal cord.
The tumor arises with the formation of a mass from cells called astrocytes, responsible for sustaining and nourishing neurons (brain cells). Some of the symptoms of glioblastoma are: headache, loss of appetite and balance, seizures and learning difficulties.
As the tumor grows and takes up space in the brain, other serious symptoms can appear, such as changes in behavior, speech problems and also vision problems. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), glioblastoma is grade IV, being one of the most aggressive forms of cancer.
Because of these serious consequences, New Jersey authorities are investigating in depth what might be causing these tumors in local residents.