Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by movement disorders, including tremors and bradykinesia, which are due to the insufficient production and action of dopamine in the brain. The cause of PD is not completely understood, though it is believed to be due to a mixture of environmental and genetic factors. Although the cause of Parkinson’s is still largely unknown, researchers have found a positive correlation between pesticides and PD.

Workers of a particular French farm were constantly subjected to organochlorine insecticides. Due to the number of cases of PD in the workers, an association between PD and pesticides was theorized. The study, headed by Alexis Elbaz M.D., Ph. D., of Inserm, included interviewing a large number of pesticide-exposed participants from farm workers around France and collecting a plethora of data, from farm size to the way pesticide was applied.

The results of the study showed that workers with PD had been subjected to pesticide more regularly or for a longer period of time than their counterparts that were not afflicted by PD. The research also showed that workers exposed to insecticides had double the risk of getting PD than workers using just herbicides or fungicides. This research supports the theory that PD is influenced by environmental factors such as over-exposure to pesticides.

In order to reduce the chance a worker gets PD, the study concludes that protective gear and devices should be used to minimize worker contact with the pesticides. More studies are needed to show the effect of pesticides on people in lower quantities and lower-level exposure through different mediums such as air, water, and food.

Discussion Question: What tools do you think a worker could use to help minimize their contact with pesticides?
News Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090604124802.htm

Journal Article: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122322358/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0