Family Study Associates Pesticide Use With Parkin... ( Study found strongest ties to herbici...)

Family Study Associates Pesticide Use With Parkinson's Risk

Date:3/28/2008

Study found strongest ties to herbicides and insecticides

FRIDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- 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 journal BMC 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.

Many Parkinson's disease cases are thought to be due to an interaction between genetic and environmental factors. By studying related individuals who share environmental and genetic backgrounds, researchers said they could identify specific differences in exposures between individuals with and without the disease.

"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.

Researchers from both Duke University Medical Center and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine interviewed 319 Parkinson's patients and more than 200 of their relatives to get details about whether they ever were exposed to pesticides, lived or worked on a farm, or drank water from wells.

Parkinson's disease, which affects about 1 million people in the United States, is characterized by symptoms such as tremors and muscle rigidity. Several gene variations have been tagged as contributing to the disease, but these rare defects account for a small proportion of those affected by disorder.

While sev
'/>"/>

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. With Alzheimers, It Takes a Family
2. Almost Family Announces Acquisition of Apex Home Health
3. Families Can Make Informed 2008 Presidential Campaign Decisions With FamilyEducation & Infoplease
4. African Americans less likely than whites to get colonoscopy despite family history of colon cancer
5. Life Denied: Nurses, Family of Sick Teen March on Health Insurance Company Tuesday
6. Video: TI unveils industrys first family of complete analog front ends for superior ultrasound systems
7. Family Discussion Plays Role in Breast Cancer Awareness
8. Haymarket Adds Two Cancer Journals to Its Family of Clinical Publications
9. Quitters Honored at Wizards DC Tobacco Free Family Night
10. Family communication impacts attitude about genetic counseling/testing for breast cancer
11. New choices bring wider range of women to family planning

Post Your Comments:

Family Study Associates Pesticide Use With Parkin...( Study found strongest ties to herbici...),Health