Pesticides and Parkinson's

Summer has arrived, at least in my part of the country, and along with the warmer temps are the first blooms of perennial and annual flowers and the home gardens are underway. The farmer’s are tilling, planting and doing their farmer things and with all of the beauty and growth also comes the weeds, fungus, pests, and other growth-choking invaders.

Before you break out the pesticides or call in the professionals, there is something you should know. Well, let me take that back, there are a million different things you should know before you break out chemicals and pesticides, but there is one thing you should know that is currently in the news – pesticides have been linked to Parkinson’s disease.

Just this week Reuters writes that after a meeting of experts, evidence that pesticides can cause Parkinson’s disease is stronger than it has ever been. The experts have put together links between pesticides and Parkinson’s in animals and people, scientists say.

One study shows that farm workers who used the common weedkiller paraquat had two to three times the normal risk of Parkinson’s, a degenerative brain disease that eventually paralyzes patients.

A second study shows that animals exposed to paraquat have a build-up of protein called alpha-synuclein in their brains. This protein has been linked to Parkinson’s in the past.

Last but not least, this buildup of protein cells kills the same brain cells affected in Parkinson’s.

Now this “news” isn’t necessarily NEW, but it is news nonetheless. Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center began reporting on the pesticide/Parkinson’s link in January, 2001. Deborah Cory-Slechta, Ph.D., professor of environmental medicine and dean for research at Rochester reported her team’s findings in the December 15, 2001, issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

Cory-Slechta’s team studied the effects of a mixture of two very common agrichemicals, the herbicide paraquat and the fungicide maneb. Each is used by farmers on millions of acres in the United States alone. Maneb is applied widely on such crops as potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce and corn, and paraquat is used on corn, soybeans, cotton, fruit, and a variety of other products.

“The environmental reality is that several of these chemicals are used on the same crops and in the same geographical locations,” Cory-Slechta said. “You’ve got to get rid of the weeds. Then the insects. Then funguses. These are different chemicals that do different things, but they’re often applied in the same fields.”

Maneb, paraquat, and many other pesticides are used in the agriculture-rich areas of the country, including the Midwest, California, Florida and the Northeast. The map of their use mirrors areas of the country where people are more likely to die of Parkinson’s disease.

If anyone close to you has ever suffered the ravages of Parkinson’s disease, you will know without a doubt that Parkinson’s disease is not something you ever want to personally experience. Having watched not one but both of my grandmother’s succumb to the disease I will do whatever it takes to insure that I don’t walk their final path.

Just as we avoid known carcinogens and detrimental habits, we also should avoid at all costs any direct exposure to reduce the pesticide/Parkinson’s link. Don’t use it on your crops, gardens, etc. Don’t purchase food that has been grown in treated fields, and once again, I would suggest you buy only locally grown, organic produce. It’s the safest bet around.