In two companion papers published in the journal NeuroToxicology (Dec. 2004 and Feb. 2005), University of Rochester researchers have identified early environmental risks for Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder that affects one in every 100 Americans over age 60.

The study investigating the link between Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides and Parkinson’s disease has demonstrated new and intricate reactions that occur in certain brain cells, making them more vulnerable to injury after exposures.

According to the study, PCBs disrupt a type of nerve cell that degenerates in the course of the disease. Also, researchers were able to show that low levels of maneb, a fungicide commonly used in farming, can injure the antioxidant system in those same types of cells. Environmental contaminants might make dopamine cells more vulnerable to damage from normal aging, infection, or subsequent exposure to pollutants, researchers say.

Already in the 1990s scientists reported that the brains of Parkinson’s patients contained elevated levels of PCBs and certain pesticides. While researchers believe that genetics, the aging process and exposure to toxicants all play a role in the development of Parkinson’s, the University of Rochester group led by Lisa Opanashuk, Ph.D., is focused on environmental exposures.

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 Related Link on Parkinson’s disease