Pesticide linked to Parkinson’s
According to a recent AFP article, new “fears that pesticides may cause Parkinson’s have been strengthened by research that says the greater the exposure to these chemicals, the higher the risk of developing the disease.”
The Geoparkinson study done by University of Aberdeen scientist Anthony Seaton researched the histories of 767 volunteers in Scotland, Italy, Sweden, Romania and Malta who had Parkinson’s disease, said the AFP.
“Low users of pesticides such as amateur gardeners are 9 percent likelier than non-users to develop Parkinson’s, while high users, such as farmers, are 43 percent likelier,” the study in New Scientist magazine says.
The people researched were tested against 1,989 control subjects that had similar histories as the people with Parkinson’s, but they did not have the disease. Currently, the article states that the study does not identify which specific pesticides might be the possible cause of the disease. There are a number of factors, such as a family history of the disease or being knocked out several times, that could be involved in addition to the pesticide exposure, the article stated.
Currently, there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, which is a degenerative disease of the nervous system, affecting more than 1 percent of people over the age of 65.
The study will be released in New Scientist magazine this week.