Prolonged exposure to bug and weed solvents may increase the risk of having Parkinson's disease by up to 80 percent.
A group of scientists examined over 100 studies worldwide that links exposure to pesticides, or bug and weed killers, and solvents with the increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system in which motor nerves in the brain lose their ability to function, leading to uncontrolled movements, tremors, difficulty in walking and speaking, and eventually, dementia.
The analysis, led by Emanuele Cereda, a doctor at the IRCCS San Matteo University Hospital Foundation in Pavia, Italy, reviewed 104 studies and concluded that exposure to bug and weed killers and solvents increased the risk of developing Parkinson's disease by 33 percent but may also reach up to 80 percent. The research also found in controlled studies that exposure to the weed killer paraquat or the fungicides maneb and mancozeb was associated with two times the risk of developing the disease.
Cereda mentioned that their study did not consider whether the type of exposure, such as whether the compound was inhaled or absorbed through the skin, and the method of application, such as spraying or mixing, affected the risk of having Parkinson's disease. However, their study suggests that the risk of developing the disease increases in a dose-response manner as the duration of exposure of an individual to these chemicals increases.
Full details of the study were posted today on the medical journal Neurology.
According to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation website, over 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease every year. It normally manifests as a person ages but there 4 percent of the cases were diagnosed as early as age 50. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disease yet.
