Daily news blog update
Researchers find patterns that help explain chemical sensitivity November 3, 2021
Exposure to commonly used neurotoxic pesticides increases the risk of ALS for workers and residents September 30, 2021
Endocrine (hormonal) disrupting chemicals, including pesticides, can also affect the nervous system September 9, 2021
Tell the EPA to ban all chlorpyrifos use August 30, 2021
The Biden EPA re-approved the protection of paraquat to be weaker than proposed by the Trump administration August 10, 2021
Parents of child victims sued the manufacturer of chlorpyrifos July 14, 2021
On June 30, 2021, vineyard pesticides related to Parkinson's disease
Frontier science must be considered... see Science and Policy at the National Pesticide Forum, June 14, 2021
Canada quietly bans chlorpyrifos, and the EPA’s 60-day deadline for action is approaching May 19, 2021
Stop the EPA’s racist policy that disproportionately harms the brains of farm workers and children: banning chlorpyrifos May 17, 2021
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Alzheimer's disease ● Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) ● Dementia ● Epilepsy and epilepsy ● Multiple sclerosis (MS) ● Parkinson's disease ● Other neurological and nervous system disorders
The nervous system is an indispensable part of the human body, including the brain, spinal cord, a huge network of nerves and neurons, all of which are responsible for most of our body's functions-from our feelings to the way we move. However, exposure to certain chemicals, such as pesticides, can cause neurotoxic effects or exacerbate pre-existing chemical damage to the nervous system. The effects of pesticides on the nervous system (including the brain) are extremely dangerous, especially for individuals who have been exposed to the environment for a long time or during critical periods of vulnerability and development.
In the past few years, more and more evidence has shown that long-term exposure to sublethal (low) levels of pesticides can have adverse effects on the central nervous system (CNS), and exposure to agricultural chemicals has been identified as the cause of many adverse CNS effects. In addition to the effects on the central nervous system, pesticide exposure can also affect a variety of neurological diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s disease, as well as cognitive function and dementia-like diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
The study, in the paper "Pesticides, Cognitive Function and Dementia: A Review" by Aloizou et al. pointed out that "taking into account the burdens associated with such diseases, especially but not limited to Western countries and their aging populations, and economic losses With regard to the costs associated with poor quality of life, it is important to determine the factors related to these diseases and the factors that may prevent their progress if modified; regarding the issue at hand, it is important to emphasize personal pesticide safety issues."
According to the Alzheimer's Disease Association, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, a progressive and fatal brain disease that cannot be cured by medicine. As many as 5.3 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease can damage brain cells, leading to memory loss and thinking and behavior problems, severe enough to adversely affect normal work.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease — named after the famous baseball player who was diagnosed with the disease in the 1930s — is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerves of the brain and spinal cord. As many as 16,000-20,000 Americans suffer from ALS. The progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis can impair muscle/motor function and cause difficulty in walking, talking, eating/swallowing, and breathing. Severe ALS progression is fatal and there is currently no cure.
Dementia is a major neurocognitive disorder that consists of a set of syndromes that cause deterioration in memory, cognition, behavior, and motor function. Alzheimer's disease is the most common dementia, accounting for approximately 60-70% of cases. Although dementia mainly affects the elderly, it is an abnormal symptom of aging. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 50 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, and this syndrome affects 10 million people every year. There is no known cure for most types of dementia. These dementias are usually chronic and progressive.
Epilepsy is a common neurological disease because 4 million Americans suffer from this dysfunction. The causes of epilepsy may be different conditions that affect a person's brain, such as stroke, brain tumor, traumatic brain injury or head injury, and central nervous system (CNS) infection. These conditions disrupt the communication of nerve cells in the brain and cause long-term seizures (status epilepticus) due to abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Although epilepsy is the most common cause of seizures, not everyone with seizures has epilepsy. Drug therapy can control epilepsy, but typical antiepileptic drugs are not effective for the treatment of non-epileptic seizures.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). The immune system attacks the nerves and disrupts communication between the brain and other parts of the body. Over time, this disease can permanently damage nerves. Data shows that the current number of MS patients is approximately between 250,00 and 350,000, and there are 200 new cases every week. Although there is no cure for MS, treatment can help ward off MS attacks, control symptoms, and slow the progression of the disease.
The second most common neurodegenerative disease, Parkinson’s disease (PD), occurs when nerve cells in the substantia nigra of the brain are damaged or destroyed and can no longer produce dopamine. This nerve signaling molecule Helps control muscle movement. People with PD have multiple symptoms, including loss of muscle control, tremors, and lack of coordination. They may also experience anxiety, constipation, dementia, depression, difficulty urinating, and sleep disturbances. Over time, the symptoms will worsen. At least 1 million Americans have PD, and approximately 50,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Only 10% to 15% of cases are caused by genetics, and researchers have been looking for potential risk factors for the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). Epidemiological and toxicological evidence has repeatedly identified pesticide exposure and specific gene-pesticide interactions as important adverse risk factors for PD. See the Parkinson's disease article on Beyond Pesticides in the Spring 2008 issue of Pesticides and You.
A new study shows that the possibility of Parkinson's disease (PD) is related to previous exposure to occupational pesticides, whether in sporadic PD cases or in PD patients with GBA genetic risk variants. This association is not as strong for PD's LRRK2 risk variant. The researchers pointed out that pesticide exposure is also associated with cognitive decline, especially for carriers of GBA variants.
Studies have shown that the independent and combined effects of genetic variations in the dopamine transporter (DAT) locus and pesticides may affect the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: In 324 PD patients and 334 population controls from a rural California case-control study, we performed rs2652510, rs2550956 (for DAT 5'clade) and 3'variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) Genotyping. Using the GIS method, we determined that the residence was exposed to agricultural maneb and paraquat applications. We also collected occupational pesticide use data. Using logistic regression, we calculated the odds ratio (OR) of the number of alleles for clade double type, VNTR genotype, and susceptibility (A clade and 9 repeats), and evaluated the susceptibility allele-pesticide interaction . DAT A clade diplotype carriers have increased PD risk [AA and BB: OR = 1.66; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.08–2.57] and 3'VNTR 9/9 carriers (9/9 and 10 /10: OR = 1.8; 95% CI, 0.96–3.57), our data indicates the effect of gene dose. Importantly, one susceptible allele carrier has a three-fold increase in PD risk (OR = 2.99; 95% CI, 0.88-10.2), while two or more allele carriers have a four-fold increase in PD risk. Times more than (OR = 4.53; 95% CI, 1.70–12.1). We have achieved similar results with regard to occupational pesticide measures. Using two separate pesticide measures, we a) replicated the previously reported genetic-environment interactions between DAT genetic variants and male occupational pesticide exposures, and b) estimated residential pesticide exposures by using state records and computer models. Our results indicate that the interaction of DAT genetic variation and pesticide exposure can increase the risk of PD.
Central Nervous System (CNS) Tumors ● Headache/migraine ● Huntington's disease ● Nervous system diseases ● Neurotoxicity ● Stroke
Children and adolescents living in agricultural areas are likely to be exposed to pesticide mixtures in their daily activities, which may damage their neurodevelopment. We investigated various such activities related to the severity of headaches and neurodevelopment of school children living in rural agricultural areas in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. We used baseline data of 1001 school children from the 9-16 year old South African Child Health Agricultural Pesticide Cohort Study (CapSA) from seven schools and three agricultural districts in the Western Cape of South Africa. The questionnaire aims to assess activities related to pesticide exposure and health symptoms, involving four types of activities: 1) children’s farm activities related to pesticide treatment, 2) direct consumption of field crops, 3) contact with surface water around the field, and 4) Seeing and smelling pesticide spraying activities. The iPad-based cognitive assessment tool Cambridge Automatic Neuropsychological Battery (CANTAB) evaluated neurocognitive performance in three areas of attention, memory and processing speed. Use the standard headache impact test (HIT-6) tool to ask about the severity of the headache. A cross-sectional regression analysis was performed. Approximately 50% of the cohort reported having participated in activities related to pesticide exposure, including farm activities, direct consumption of field crops, and leisure activities. Pesticide-related farm activities (score increase 1.99; 95% CI: 0.86, 3.12), edible crops (1.52; 0.41, 2.67), and recreational activities such as playing, swimming or bathing in nearby waters continue to increase in headache severity scores ( 1.25; 0.18, 2.33). For the neurocognitive results, an overall negative trend in activities related to pesticide exposure was observed. Among them, participation in pesticide-related farm activities is related to lower multitasking accuracy scores (-2.74; -5.19, -0.29), while spatial working memory strategies are lower (-0.29; -0.56; -0.03) and lower Compared with people who did not pick crops from the field, paired association learning (-0.88; -1.60, -0.17) was observed in people who picked crops in the field. Eating fruit directly from the vineyard or orchard is associated with a lower screening speed of motion (-0.06; -0.11, -0.01) and a lower accuracy score of fast visual processing (-0.02; -0.03, 0.00). Children who express activities related to pesticide exposure may have a higher risk of headaches and cognitive decline in attention, memory, and processing speed. However, self-reported data and cross-sectional design are a limitation. Future research by CapSA will consider estimating pesticide exposure through longitudinal assessment of urine biomarkers and cognitive function.
Children and adolescents living in agricultural areas are likely to be exposed to pesticide mixtures in their daily activities, which may damage their neurodevelopment. We investigated various such activities related to the severity of headaches and neurodevelopment of school children living in rural agricultural areas in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. We used baseline data of 1001 school children from the 9-16 year old South African Child Health Agricultural Pesticide Cohort Study (CapSA) from seven schools and three agricultural districts in the Western Cape of South Africa. The questionnaire aims to assess activities related to pesticide exposure and health symptoms, involving four types of activities: 1) children’s farm activities related to pesticide treatment, 2) direct consumption of field crops, 3) contact with surface water around the field, and 4) Seeing and smelling pesticide spraying activities. The iPad-based cognitive assessment tool Cambridge Automatic Neuropsychological Battery (CANTAB) evaluated neurocognitive performance in three areas of attention, memory and processing speed. Use the standard headache impact test (HIT-6) tool to ask about the severity of the headache. A cross-sectional regression analysis was performed. Approximately 50% of the cohort reported having participated in activities related to pesticide exposure, including farm activities, direct consumption of field crops, and leisure activities. Pesticide-related farm activities (score increase 1.99; 95% CI: 0.86, 3.12), edible crops (1.52; 0.41, 2.67), and recreational activities such as playing, swimming or bathing in nearby waters continue to increase in headache severity scores ( 1.25; 0.18, 2.33). For the neurocognitive results, an overall negative trend in activities related to pesticide exposure was observed. Among them, participation in pesticide-related farm activities is related to lower multitasking accuracy scores (-2.74; -5.19, -0.29), while spatial working memory strategies are lower (-0.29; -0.56; -0.03) and lower Compared with people who did not pick crops from the field, paired association learning (-0.88; -1.60, -0.17) was observed in people who picked crops in the field. Eating fruit directly from the vineyard or orchard is associated with a lower screening speed of motion (-0.06; -0.11, -0.01) and a lower accuracy score of fast visual processing (-0.02; -0.03, 0.00). Children who express activities related to pesticide exposure may have a higher risk of headaches and cognitive decline in attention, memory, and processing speed. However, self-reported data and cross-sectional design are a limitation. Future research by CapSA will consider estimating pesticide exposure through longitudinal assessment of urine biomarkers and cognitive function.
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