RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- People exposed to the pesticides rotenone and paraquat developed Parkinson's disease approximately 2.5 times more often than others, U.S. researchers found.
Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center in Sunnyvale, Calif., studied 110 people with Parkinson's disease and 358 matched controls from the Farming and Movement Evaluation Study.
The investigators diagnosed Parkinson's disease by agreement of movement disorder specialists and assessed the lifelong use of pesticides using detailed interviews.
Lead author Dr. Caroline Tanner of the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center says no home garden or residential uses are currently registered for either paraquat or rotenone. Paraquat use has long been restricted to certified applicators -- largely due to concerns based on studies of animal models of Parkinson's disease.
"These findings help us to understand the biologic changes underlying Parkinson's disease," Tanner says in a statement. "This may have important implications for the treatment and ultimately the prevention of Parkinson's disease."
The findings are published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
