Pesticides May Boost Parkinson’s Risk
Researchers have identified a mechanism by which exposure to pesticides might increase the risk for Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Their new study shows that pesticides that inhibit aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity can raise PD risk by up to 6-fold and that having a particular genetic predisposition also raises that risk.
“What’s new about this report is that we have identified several pesticides currently being used that were previously unknown to inhibit ALDH activity, and we also identified variations in the ALDH gene, which helps determine sensitivity to these pesticides,” said lead author Jeff M. Bronstein, MD, PhD, professor, neurology, and director, Movement Disorders, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles.
The authors stress the importance of protection for those who must be exposed to pesticides, but also argue for removing toxic pesticides from the market. They also suggest possible therapeutic approaches to modulate ALDH enzyme activity that might reduce PD occurrence.
The study was published in the February 4 issue of Neurology.
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