Weed-killers and other artificial chemicals in the environment may be fuelling increasing rates of Parkinson’s disease, according to a major analysis published last night.
The Italian researchers say there is now strong evidence of a link between insect and weed-killers and fungicides and development of the disease.
This also means researchers have also often found that farmers and country-dwellers face increased risk.
The weed-killer paraquat and two fungicides were linked to a doubled risk of developing the disease, the researchers found.
And other pesticides and solvents were linked to increased risks of between 33 and 80%, they report in the journal Neurology.
Researcher Dr Emanuele Cereda, of the IRCCS University Hospital San Matteo Foundation in Pavia, Italy, said: "We didn’t study whether the type of exposure, such as whether the compound was inhaled or absorbed through the skin and the method of application, such as spraying or mixing, affected Parkinson’s risk.
"However, our study suggests that the risk increases in a dose response manner as the length of exposure to these chemicals increases."
Neurology 28 May 2013
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