Re: Higher risk of Parkinson's disease' from gardening

[Guest guest]

When I was young and lived in south Texas, I remember seeing

crop-dusting airplanes spraying the cotton fields to eliminate boll

weevils. The clouds of pesticides drifted for miles. These were the

times when DDT was still commonly used. It would be interesting to

see if farm hands and farmers, not just ordinary garderners, are

afflicted by a higher rate of Parkinson's disease.

Tony

DDT Regulatory History: A Brief Survey (to 1975)

http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/ddt/02.htm

>

> IAN JOHNSTON

> SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT

>

>

> GARDENERS should wear protective clothing when using

> pesticides to guard against getting Parkinson's disease in later

> life, a leading scientist warns today.

>

> Professor Seaton and a team of researchers at

> Aberdeen University found gardeners who used weedkillers and

> other chemicals have an increased risk of developing the

> incurable, severely debilitating brain disease.

>

> They studied nearly 3,000 people in five European countries,

> including Scotland, and found that gardeners had a 9 per cent

> greater risk of contracting Parkinson's than people who had not

> come into contact with pesticides. Farmers were 43 per cent

> more likely to get the disease.

>

> Those with a family history of Parkinson's were 350 per cent

> more likely to get it, and being knocked out was another

> significant risk factor. Being rendered unconscious just once

> increased the risk by 32 per cent, while repeated incidents saw

> a 174 per cent rise.

>

> The disease is caused by a lack of chemicals in the brain; the

> actor J Fox and Muhammad Ali, the legendary boxer,

> are two high-profile sufferers.

>

> Symptoms include trembling, stiffness, loss of facial

> expression, poor co-ordination and balance, and problems

> moving - after many years some patients become physically

> incapable. About half develop dementia.

>

> Prof Seaton said their research, which is reported in New

> Scientist magazine today, emphasised the need to take care

> when using pesticides.

>

> " This is primarily a dose-related thing, " Prof Seaton said. " If

> you have to use pesticides, you should do your best to reduce

> the dose by not using them. And if you do use them, use them

> for the minimum amount of time and wear protective clothing

> to stop it getting into your lungs or on to your skin. "

>

> The researchers interviewed 767 Parkinson's sufferers and

> 1,989 healthy people about risk factors for the disease.

>

> " The only thing we found of great interest was that, on

> average, people who had worked with pesticides had a greater

> risk of being in the Parkinson's group rather than the control

> group, " Prof Seaton said.

>

> The chairman of the government's advisory committee on

> pesticides, Professor Coggon, of Southampton

> University, admitted some pesticides should perhaps not be on the

market

> because of the risk of getting Parkinson's. " It's possible that just

one or

> two are causing it but slipped through the regulatory net, " Prof

Coggon

> said.

>

> , policy director of the National Farming Union

> Scotland, said: " Farmers only ever use the amount that is

> required for the crop being grown. NFU Scotland encourages all

> farmers to join the national register of sprayer operators to

> ensure that pesticides are used responsibly and so that best

> practice is always employed. "

>

> Barbara Dinham, director of Pesticide Action Network UK,

> added that the research backed her organisation's call for

> alternative methods of pest control to be used more widely.

>

> HOW TO STAY SAFE

>

> ANYONE using pesticides should wear protective clothing to

> prevent the chemicals getting on to their skin or into their

> lungs.

>

> Professor Seaton said those who use pesticides as part

> of their work should wear masks and protective clothing

> designed to set standards. Gardeners who regularly use

> weedkillers and other chemicals should also take precautions,

> although they may not need to go quite so far. " If you are just

> going out once a year to spray a few roses, you can just be

> careful, although it is better to wear a mask. "

>

> <http://news.scotsman.com/img/pxl.gif>

>

> Delivery formats for " Health "

>

> [more info] <http://members.scotsman.com/headlines.cfm>

[Guest guest]

You must have missed this in the article:

" Farmers were 43 per cent more likely to get the disease. "

on 6/1/2005 1:04 PM, citpeks at citpeks@... wrote:

> When I was young and lived in south Texas, I remember seeing

> crop-dusting airplanes spraying the cotton fields to eliminate boll

> weevils. The clouds of pesticides drifted for miles. These were the

> times when DDT was still commonly used. It would be interesting to

> see if farm hands and farmers, not just ordinary garderners, are

> afflicted by a higher rate of Parkinson's disease.

>

> Tony

[Guest guest]

Oh, My, the very thought sends chills down my spine!

> >

> > IAN JOHNSTON

> > SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT

> >

> >

> > GARDENERS should wear protective clothing when using

> > pesticides to guard against getting Parkinson's disease in later

> > life, a leading scientist warns today.

> >

> > Professor Seaton and a team of researchers at

> > Aberdeen University found gardeners who used weedkillers and

> > other chemicals have an increased risk of developing the

> > incurable, severely debilitating brain disease.

> >

> > They studied nearly 3,000 people in five European countries,

> > including Scotland, and found that gardeners had a 9 per cent

> > greater risk of contracting Parkinson's than people who had not

> > come into contact with pesticides. Farmers were 43 per cent

> > more likely to get the disease.

> >

> > Those with a family history of Parkinson's were 350 per cent

> > more likely to get it, and being knocked out was another

> > significant risk factor. Being rendered unconscious just once

> > increased the risk by 32 per cent, while repeated incidents saw

> > a 174 per cent rise.

> >

> > The disease is caused by a lack of chemicals in the brain; the

> > actor J Fox and Muhammad Ali, the legendary boxer,

> > are two high-profile sufferers.

> >

> > Symptoms include trembling, stiffness, loss of facial

> > expression, poor co-ordination and balance, and problems

> > moving - after many years some patients become physically

> > incapable. About half develop dementia.

> >

> > Prof Seaton said their research, which is reported in New

> > Scientist magazine today, emphasised the need to take care

> > when using pesticides.

> >

> > " This is primarily a dose-related thing, " Prof Seaton said. " If

> > you have to use pesticides, you should do your best to reduce

> > the dose by not using them. And if you do use them, use them

> > for the minimum amount of time and wear protective clothing

> > to stop it getting into your lungs or on to your skin. "

> >

> > The researchers interviewed 767 Parkinson's sufferers and

> > 1,989 healthy people about risk factors for the disease.

> >

> > " The only thing we found of great interest was that, on

> > average, people who had worked with pesticides had a greater

> > risk of being in the Parkinson's group rather than the control

> > group, " Prof Seaton said.

> >

> > The chairman of the government's advisory committee on

> > pesticides, Professor Coggon, of Southampton

> > University, admitted some pesticides should perhaps not be on the

> market

> > because of the risk of getting Parkinson's. " It's possible that just

> one or

> > two are causing it but slipped through the regulatory net, " Prof

> Coggon

> > said.

> >

> > , policy director of the National Farming Union

> > Scotland, said: " Farmers only ever use the amount that is

> > required for the crop being grown. NFU Scotland encourages all

> > farmers to join the national register of sprayer operators to

> > ensure that pesticides are used responsibly and so that best

> > practice is always employed. "

> >

> > Barbara Dinham, director of Pesticide Action Network UK,

> > added that the research backed her organisation's call for

> > alternative methods of pest control to be used more widely.

> >

> > HOW TO STAY SAFE

> >

> > ANYONE using pesticides should wear protective clothing to

> > prevent the chemicals getting on to their skin or into their

> > lungs.

> >

> > Professor Seaton said those who use pesticides as part

> > of their work should wear masks and protective clothing

> > designed to set standards. Gardeners who regularly use

> > weedkillers and other chemicals should also take precautions,

> > although they may not need to go quite so far. " If you are just

> > going out once a year to spray a few roses, you can just be

> > careful, although it is better to wear a mask. "

> >

> > <http://news.scotsman.com/img/pxl.gif>

> >

> > Delivery formats for " Health "

> >

> > [more info] <http://members.scotsman.com/headlines.cfm>