I have read something about DEET causing neurological symptoms in laboratory animals in studies at a well-known university. What’s that all about?
The researcher conducting studies used DEET mixed with known neurotoxins, so a neurological finding is not unusual or unexpected in this instance. The question is whether the results were caused by DEET or the other chemicals in the mixture. This research has been questioned by many and never replicated. The format of the study has been reviewed and found wanting (too few animals were tested, conclusions were drawn based on a pathology review that was not the protocol most scientists would use, etc.) Requests from other scientists to review the study materials were denied, which is highly unusual. For a discussion of this study, see B.S. Jortner “The Return of the (Dark) Neuron”. A Histological Artifact Complicating Neurotoxicologic Interpretation. Abstract No. 1909. 2005 Society of Toxicology meeting, New Orleans, LA.
