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).

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