Pesticides 'linked to Parkinson's disease'RSS Feed

Pesticides could be causing the brain injury seen in Parkinson's disease, according to new research.

Rotenone and paraquat have been linked to the neurodegenerative condition by scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center in Sunnyvale.

The researchers looked at 110 participants with Parkinson's disease and 358 controls from the Farming and Movement Evaluation to investigate how exposure to pesticides affects incidence of the condition.

Researcher Freya Kamel said that those who used rotenone and paraquet were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease.

"Rotenone directly inhibits the function of the mitochondria, the structure responsible for making energy in the cell," she explained.

"Paraquat increases production of certain oxygen derivatives that may harm cellular structures."

Meanwhile, a new compound could protect Parkinson's patients from brain injury, scientists have said.

Compound SR-3306 demonstrated a protection rate of over 90 per cent when it was trialled on cell models.

Serious Law, award winning traumatic brain injury law firm

Posted by Matthew Dixon
 

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