Family study bolsters link between pesticides and Parkinson's

by Biomed Central
ImmuneSupport.com

04-07-2008

For the first time, the association between Parkinson’s disease and exposure to pesticides has been shown in patients with the neurological disorder compared with their unaffected relatives, according to a study in the online open access journal BMC Neurology. [See “Pesticide exposure and risk of Parkinson's disease: A family-based case-control study.”]

Parkinson’s disease is a common neurological disorder affecting about 1 million people in the USA. The disorder typically develops in later life, resulting in symptoms such as tremors and muscle rigidity. Although variations in several genes have been identified that contribute to the disease, these rare genetic defects account for a small proportion of the overall prevalence of the disorder.

High Rate of Exposure to Pesticides
The majority of Parkinson’s disease cases are thought to be due to an interaction between genetic and environmental factors.

“Previous studies have shown that individuals with Parkinson’s disease are over twice as likely to report being exposed to pesticides as unaffected individuals” says the study’s lead author, Dana Hancock, “but few studies have looked at this association in people from the same family or have assessed associations between specific classes of pesticides and Parkinson’s disease.”

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