Injuries and pesticides increase Parkinson's

According to a study published in the American Journal of Neurology, ever having a serious head injury combined with pesticide exposure may be associated with a high risk of Parkinson's disease.

The finding is consistent with previous studies of a link between head injury and exposure to some toxic substances along with a family history of illness and other exposures, to the disease.

Researchers at the University of California compared 357 newly diagnosed people with Parkinson's with 754 people without the disease, all living in Central California - a large agricultural region of the United States.

The researchers asked them to show all their head and home address injuries as well as their workplace addresses to determine the proximity to pesticide spraying since 1974.

The results showed that nearly 12% of people with Parkinson's had been knocked unconscious and 47% of these were exposed to Paraquat herbicides near their homes and workplaces.

According to the researchers, having a head injury or living and working near an insecticide spray site is associated with a risk of Parkinson's disease, but combining both will increase the risk of disease. triple.