Link Between Parkinson’s And Pesticides

Now you have another reason to make your garden organic: researchers have found new evidence that exposure to pesticides may be the cause of some cases of Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system.

For some times, researchers have suspected a link between pesticides and Parkinson’s.

By exposing laboratory animals to maneb, a fungicide, and paraquat, an herbicide, they have induced Parkinson-like symptoms in those animals [Parkinson’s disease symptoms] . Determining whether or not there is a link in humans, however, is much more complex.

In the recent study, researchers looked at pesticide use over a period of 25 years in fields in Central Valley in California, and residents who lived near those fields.

People who lived near fields where either maneb or paraquat had been sprayed showed a definite increase in the likelihood of having Parkinson’s disease.

The incidence of Parkinson’s disease increased even more in patients who had been exposed to both maneb and paraquat. Parkinson’s disease is not fatal in and of itself, but it can cause complications which are fatal.

About 1.5 million people in the United States have Parkinson’s disease, with about 60,000 new patients each year. There is currently no cure for Parkinson’s disease; treatment involves addressing the symptoms of the disease.