Genetic Mutation Increases Risk of Parkinson's Disease from Pesticides

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131127122307.htm

Nov. 27, 2013

-----

"For the first time, we have used human stem cells derived from Parkinson's disease patients to show that a genetic mutation combined with exposure to pesticides creates a 'double hit' scenario, producing free radicals in neurons that disable specific molecular pathways that cause nerve-cell death," says Stuart Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., professor and director of Sanford-Burnham's Del E. Webb Center for Neuroscience, Aging, and Stem Cell Research and senior author of the study.

Until now, the link between pesticides and Parkinson's disease was based mainly on animal studies and epidemiological research that demonstrated an increased risk of disease among farmers, rural populations, and others exposed to agricultural chemicals.

-----