I just finished “A Prescription for Action: Ending Parkinson’s Disease” and have a whole new perspective concerning the causes of the disease. According to the authors, the use of certain chemicals, pesticides, solvents, and metals may be the underlying causes of Parkinson’s disease. What is the evidence?
Rates of Parkinson’s disease have continued to increase in almost all industrialized nations. The authors cite “Over the past twenty-five years the prevalence rates for Parkinson’s, adjusted for age, increased by 22% for the world, by 30% for India, and by 116% for China.
The elements associated with Parkinson’s are found in cosmetics, paints, cleaning products, and pharmaceuticals. Trichloroethylene is one of the most common industrial solvents and is also linked to Parkinson’s. People exposed to DDT, Agent Orange, dieldrin, Paraquat, and glyphosate or Roundup also have higher rates of Parkinson’s.
Parkinson’s affects far more men than women, as they tend to work in more occupations that expose them to industrial products linked to the disorder. For instance, in the United States, 75% of farmers, 80% of metal and plastics laborers, 90% chemical workers, 91% painters, 96% welders, and 97% of pest control workers are men. Men, it has been found, have a 40% greater chance of developing Parkinson’s disease than women.
It appears that living longer is associated with the disease. Nerve cell loss needs time before the disease develops. Researchers believe the disorder develops in one’s twenties or thirties, but symptoms do not manifest until an individual is much older. In fact, when around 60% of nerve cells are gone, the typical symptoms of Parkinson’s appear. As the population ages, Parkinson’s is expected to rise.
The science is still working on the question “Do Certain Chemicals Cause Parkinson’s Disease”? but for now the evidence looks rather damning.