Parkinson's Disease and Pesticide Use

Filed in archive Neurological Disorders , Parkinson's Disease , Studies on March 31, 2008

In another study, it was mentioned that an impaired sense of smell may predict the development of Parkinson's disease - especially in men.





Now, as reported in The Washington Post, the use of pesticide is associated to the development of Parkinson's disease:

Parkinson's disease has been linked to exposure to pesticides in a new study comparing people with the neurological disorder and their unaffected relatives.

The study, published online in the open-access journalBMC Neurology, found the strongest ties to the use of herbicides and insecticides, such as organochlorides and organophosphates. Drinking well water or living or working on a farm, two common experiences for pesticide exposures, did not appear to be associated with Parkinson's.

"Previous studies have shown that individuals with Parkinson's disease are over twice as likely to report being exposed to pesticides as unaffected individuals, 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," study author Dana hancock said in a prepared statement.

Click here to find out more about pesticide use and responsible pesticide use. Read more about Parkinson's disease.