Pesticides Linked to Parkinson's Disease

COMBINATION OF PESTICIDES LINKED TO PARKINSON'S DISEASE

By Cat Lazaroff

ROCHESTER, New York, January 3, 2001 (ENS) - A combination of two widely used agricultural pesticides - but neither one alone - creates in mice the exact pattern of brain damage that doctors see in patients with Parkinson's disease. The research offers the most compelling evidence yet that everyday environmental factors may play a role in the development of the disease.

"The environmental reality is that several of these chemicals are used on the same crops and in the same geographical locations. 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," said Cory-Slechta, who was joined in the research by graduate student Mona Thiruchelvam and faculty members Eric Richfield, Raymond Baggs, and A. William Tank.

Mississippi cotton crops may be treated with an herbicide like paraquat to reduce competition by weeds.

Glyconutrients provide nutritional saccharides which are essential to wellness.