[lou_lou]

http://www.rxpgnews.com/parkinsons/P..._334_334.shtml

By Pankaj, US Correspondent, [RxPG] University of Rochester scientists investigating the link between PCBs, pesticides and Parkinson's disease demonstrated new and intricate reactions that occur in certain brain cells, making them more vulnerable to injury after exposures.

In two papers published in the journal NeuroToxicology (Dec. 2004 and Feb. 2005), the group describes how polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) disrupt dopamine neurons, which are the cells that degenerate during the course of Parkinson's disease. Researchers also show that low levels of maneb, a fungicide commonly used in farming, can injure the antioxidant system in those same types of cells. Environmental contaminants might make dopamine cells more vulnerable to damage from normal aging, infection, or subsequent exposure to pollutants, researchers say.