Wow, John. I didn't need any convincing on this connection, but the visuals do have more impact in this case. I hadn't thought to seek this out, but it looks like if we were to overlay the air pollution rates over the PD hot zones, it would be easy to convince others (the power players) that we should be researching this a lot more.
I think somewhere earlier in this thread we mentioned how an area's climate may make a difference. It seems in dryer areas, there is less disease prevalence. Note: Prior to 2006, most studies on air pollution measured mortality and morbidity from cancer and cardiovascular conditions.
I don't know about the big two
esticides and well-water? The two main pesticide culprits a.k.a. Rotenone and Parquat; I have yet to see studies of chronic or acute exposure to any of these priming the human brain for PD or AD.
From 2006 study acknowledging that air pollution causes brain damage:
Morphometric analysis of the CNS indicated unequivocally that the brain is a critical target for PM exposure and implicated oxidative stress as a predisposing factor that links PM exposure and susceptibility to neurodegeneration.
Brings to mind those seminal books written in the 60's that I should have been required to read but or sought on my own but ignored for whatever reasons....looks like I need to revisit both Future Shock and Silent Spring.
Whatever are we doing to ourselves?
Laura