HUGE FUNDING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSES OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) announced on the 19th of September 2008 that it will award three new grants totalling more than $20 million dollars to study how environmental factors contribute to the cause, prevention and treatment of Parkinson's Disease.

The three grantees include :

(1) Gary Miller of Emory University, Atlanta, who will be looking at how environmental and genetic factors interact to alter these functions in dopamine neurons. They will be attempting to develop new biomarkers in the blood that will help identify people that may be at risk for developing Parkinson's disease;

(2) Marie-Françoise Chesselet of UCLA, who is aiming to show associations between high levels of exposure to specific environmental pesticides and Parkinson's' disease, and determine the mechanisms of action that may be causing this association;

(3) Stuart Lipton of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in California will explore how environmental toxicants may contribute to Parkinson's Disease by producing free radical stress that mimics or enhances the effects of known genetic mutations. For more information these projects go to the Complete article. There are a number of known toxic causes of Parkinson's Disease. For more information go to the Toxic causes of Parkinson's Disease. However, the number of people known to be suffering from Parkinson's Diisease due to any of these toxic causes is very few. Toxicity has never been shown to be the primary cause of Parkinson's Disease.

PARKINSON'S DISEASE NEWS
The following is all significant new research, news reports, new books, and new resources concerning Parkinson's Disease and those medical disorders that often coincide with Parkinson's Disease : Parkinsonism, Essential Tremor, Dystonia, Restless Legs Syndrome. It is compiled from an analysis of all newly published research, news reports, new clinical trials, all newly published books, and new resources. A summary and analysis of the new research are provided, as well as links to the complete abstracts and news reports.

THE LIKELIHOOD OF TOXICITY CAUSING PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Toxicity can cause Parkinson's Disease on its own, or can make Parkinson's Disease more likely if combined with other factors. Toxicity can initiate Parkinson's Disease, and then lead to persistent Parkinson's Disease because of the after effect of drugs needed to treat it, even when the toxic effect has worn off. Toxicity can often be reversed by avoiding the toxic substance. However, with some toxins this can take years because the toxin can accumulate in the blood and in the brain. Toxicity is often claimed to be the main cause of Parkinson's Disease, but the evidence indicates that toxicity causes Parkinson's Disease only in a minority of cases. It has not previously been known how readily various toxins can cause Parkinson's Disease. This study evaluated the risk of causing Parkinson's Disease after exposure to a variety of toxins. Rotenone, a pesticide, was found to massively increase the risk of Parkinson's Disease, even when used when only during the past year doing gardening. Any use at all of rotenone in the past made Parkinson's Disease far more likely. Of those substances assessed, the next most likely to cause Parkinson's Disease were, in order : work in a paper / lumber mill, exposure to cadmium, past work in an electronics plant, insecticide applications to animal areas and agricultural processes, paraquat (the herbicide), exposure to fluorides (used in industry), and least of all, the use of chlorpyrifos products (insecticides). Cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and fish intake were associated with a reduced risk.