Gardeners who use pesticides 'have higher Parkinson's risk'

[emad]

By Nic Fleming, Health Correspondent
(Filed: 26/05/2005)

Farmers and amateur gardeners who are exposed to pesticides run a higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease, researchers said yesterday.

Previous evidence that suggested an association with the disease was strengthened by the publication of research covering almost 3,000 people in five European countries.

Scientists found that heavy exposure to pesticides increased the chances of developing Parkinson's by almost 50 per cent.

The incurable disease is characterised by tremors, rigidity, shaking of the limbs and difficulty in walking. It is caused by the degeneration of nerve cells in the brain that send chemical messages to neurons controlling the muscles.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/05/26/npest26.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/05/26/ixhome.html

[murielm99]

1. Many of the older farmers where I live have Parkinson's.

I noticed that the article mentioned previous evidence.

This is not really new, but I am glad someone is studying it.

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Source article

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18625014.900

Home gardener risk increased by only 9%, which is probably trivial compared to other known risk factors. As the article also states, getting knocked unconscious increases the chances by 32%.

The New Scientist article states that a weakness of the study is they can't identify WHICH pesticides are associated with the increased risk. Too bad, because if it's only one class of pesticides causing the problem it is easy to remedy through greater regulation or banning of those products.

Of course, organic gardening might be a solution too.

[HuckleB]

3. I doubt anyone here is shocked by this.

One wonders what other diseases such agents put these folks at increased risk of obtaining.