Occupational Diseases: Pesticide Exposure Linked to Parkinson's

Exposure to a banned pesticide, dieldrin, appears to accelerate the changes in the brain associated with Parkinson's disease, according to research done at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Gary Miller, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health at Emory, said "our current study clearly shows that pesticides such as dieldrin appear to accelerate or exacerbate the already underlying disease. Pesticides aren't necessarily the causative agents, but they do promote Parkinson's. So it appears the more you are exposed to pesticides, the greater your risk of developing the disease earlier in life."

Science Daily

Dieldrin was developed as an alternative to DDT in the 1940s. It was used to control agricultural pests and termites and was banned in 1974 by the Environmental Protection Agency after it was discovered to be harmful to fish and wildlife. Even though it no longer is in use, environmental toxins can persist in the environment and can be passed through the food chain, especially in meat and dairy consumption. Over the next few decades, dieldrin exposure should decrease, thus becoming less of a factor in the development of Parkinson's. At least 500,000 Americans have Parkinson's disease and about 50,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.