According to the results of a Emory University study, recently published in Nature Neuroscience, Parkinson’s disease has been linked to a common backyard pesticide.

Rotenone, a common “non-toxic” backyard pesticide was found to produce all the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in a study on rats.

When exposed to the chemical, the rats grew still, hunched over and developed tremors- the kind of symptoms that develop in Parkinson’s disease.

The rats were fed Rotenone intravenously, through the jugular vein, from one to five weeks, so it would not be broken down or metabolized in the digestive tract.

And, leader of the study, Dr. Timothy Greenmyre said, “When we examined their brains we saw that they had a progressive degeneration of the dopamine system that goes awry in Parkinson’s- it was extremely specific.”

While it hasn’t been determined if Rotenone is a factor in the human disease, or just on of the many toxins that have to work in concert before Parkinson’s develops in the brain, scientists said results of this study is the best evidence so far that chemicals in the environment may be a factor leading to the disease.

SOURCE: Nature Neuroscience, December 2000; Alternative Medicine Update, www.healthmall.com, November 2000.

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