New research establishes further link with Parkinson's and
pesticides
14 July 2009
There is growing evidence of a link between pesticides and Parkinson's, and this interesting new study seems to support this.
Dr Kieran Breen, Director of Research
People with raised levels of a particular pesticide in their
blood may have an increased risk of Parkinson's, according to
research published in the journal 'Archives of Neurology'.
Strongest evidence yet
The findings provide some of the strongest evidence yet linking
Parkinson's and pesticide exposure.
Previous studies have found higher than normal levels of
pesticides such as DDT in the brains of people with
Parkinson's. But the new research is the first to highlight a
specific pesticide chemical in the blood.
Beta-HCH
Scientists at the University of Texas studied 113 people aged 50
to 89. 50 people had Parkinson's, 43 were healthy, and 20 had
Alzheimer's disease. One chemical, beta-HCH, was unusually likely
to be found in the blood of people with Parkinson's.
Dr Kieran Breen, Director of Research at the Parkinson's Disease
Society (PDS), said:
"There is growing evidence of a link between pesticides and
Parkinson's, and this interesting new study seems to support this
link and strengthens the fact that pesticides like beta-HCH play a
key role."
"The PDS recently carried out a survey of more than 10,000
people with Parkinson's in the UK and only 9% of them told us that
they had ever had long term exposure (of more than one year) to
pesticides or herbicides.
"Of the 3,000 carers surveyed (most of whom were family members)
less than 2% had had similar exposure.
"This shows that whilst pesticides may well be contributing to
nerve cell death in some people with Parkinson's, they are unlikely
to be the only cause."
Find out more
Read more information about what causes
Parkinson's
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