Parkinson’s: Pesticides found to be a major cause
Pesticides may be a direct cause of Parkinson’s disease, a new study has found. As a result, farmers and people living on farms who are regularly exposed to the chemicals may be at greater risk than people in the general population.
Herbicides and insecticides – and especially those that contain organochlorine and organophosphorous compounds – ‘significantly’ increase the risk of Parkinson’s, the researchers said.
Well-water, often suspected of being another cause of Parkinson’s, didn’t have any adverse affect.
The researchers based their conclusions on 319 Parkinson’s cases.
(Source: BMC Neurology, 2008; 8: 6).