By Kim Irwin February 03, 2014 Category: Health Sciences , Research
Studies have shown that certain pesticides can increase people's risk of developing Parkinson's disease.
Now, UCLA researchers have found that the strength of that risk depends on an individual's genetic makeup, which, in the most pesticide-exposed populations, could increase a person's chance of developing the debilitating disease two- to six-fold.
In an earlier study , published January 2013 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the UCLA team discovered a link between Parkinson's and the pesticide benomyl, a fungicide that has been banned by the U.S.
That study found that benomyl prevents the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) from converting aldehydes — organic compounds that are highly toxic to dopamine cells in the brain — into less toxic agents, thereby contributing to the risk of Parkinson's.
Bronstein said the team alsoz found that people with a commn genetic variant of the ALDH2 gene are particularly sensitive to the effects of ALDH-inhibiting pesticides and are two to six times more likely to develop Parkinson's when exposed to these pesticides than those without the variant.
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/researchers-uncover-how-pesticides-249954.aspx
Studies have shown that certain pesticides can increase people's risk of developing Parkinson's disease.
Now, UCLA researchers have found that the strength of that risk depends on an individual's genetic makeup, which, in the most pesticide-exposed populations, could increase a person's chance of developing the debilitating disease two- to six-fold.
In an earlier study , published January 2013 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the UCLA team discovered a link between Parkinson's and the pesticide benomyl, a fungicide that has been banned by the U.S.
That study found that benomyl prevents the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) from converting aldehydes — organic compounds that are highly toxic to dopamine cells in the brain — into less toxic agents, thereby contributing to the risk of Parkinson's.
Bronstein said the team alsoz found that people with a commn genetic variant of the ALDH2 gene are particularly sensitive to the effects of ALDH-inhibiting pesticides and are two to six times more likely to develop Parkinson's when exposed to these pesticides than those without the variant.
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/researchers-uncover-how-pesticides-249954.aspx
