US study links pesticides to Parkinson’s disease

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US researchers said Friday they have found that people who used two specific varieties of pesticide were 2.5 times as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.

The pesticides, paraquat and rotenone, are not approved for house and garden use. Previous research on animals has linked paraquat to Parkinson’s disease, so it is restricted to use by certified applicators.

Rotenone is approved only for use in killing invasive fish species.

“Rotenone directly inhibits the function of the mitochondria, the structure responsible for making energy in the cell,” said study co-author Freya Kamel, a researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.