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Update Date: "2010/11/09 09:49" Hong Meihui
Excerpted and translated from an ENS report on November 2, 2010, in St. Louis, Missouri; compiled by Hong Meihui; reviewed by Cai Liling.
According to a study analyzing 35,000 Parkinson’s disease patients by scientists from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, high concentrations of manganese and copper pollution in urban areas increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
The research team found that people living in areas with higher manganese pollution had a 78% greater risk of developing Parkinson’s disease compared to those residing in pollution-free areas.
High concentrations of copper in the environment raised the risk of Parkinson’s disease by 11%.
"We track patients, examine their history of exposure to pollutants, their condition, and their response to treatment. If these studies can confirm the correlation, then we will need to reassess the emission limits of these pollutants in the environment," said Dr. Allison Wright Willis, assistant professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine.
The study compared medical record data with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s industrial emissions reports. The findings were published in the *American Journal of Epidemiology*.
"Since 1988, any factory or industry emitting more than the permitted levels of any of the 650 regulated pollutants must report to the EPA," said Dr. Willis. "We used that data to identify areas with high concentrations of manganese, copper, and lead pollution and compared them to areas with little or no such pollutants."
The study examined pollutant emissions from various industries across different geographic regions.
"No single industry is the culprit," Dr. Willis said. "Industries emitting manganese, copper, and lead include food, tobacco, beverages, wood products, furniture, clothing, and stonework. Others include electronics, computers, metal processing, chemical equipment, and metal mining."
The researchers were surprised by the socioeconomic status of high-pollution areas; many were middle- or even high-income regions rather than impoverished or economically deprived areas.
According to the National Institutes of Health, at least 500,000 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, with about 50,000 new cases each year.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder first described in 1817 by a London physician, Dr. James Parkinson, after whom the disease is named.
The gradual loss of cells in a small part of the brain leads to a deficiency of dopamine, a chemical that transmits messages in the brain. Symptoms include trembling hands, slow movement, stiffness, and loss of balance. Other symptoms include loss of facial expression, reduced speech volume and clarity, difficulty swallowing, dry skin, constipation, urinary difficulties, and depression. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive condition, with symptoms worsening over time.
Many reports link Parkinson’s disease to farming and exposure to agricultural chemicals, but little is known about its urban risk factors.
Dr. Willis and her colleagues focused their study on urban areas to eliminate pesticides as a factor, aiming to investigate other substances that may increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Using medical data, they identified 35,000 Parkinson’s patients who had lived in the same area and had been diagnosed for eight years or more.
After adjusting for age, race, and gender, the study found 274 new cases of Parkinson’s disease per 100,000 people in areas with little or no manganese, copper, or lead pollution.In areas with high manganese pollution, this ratio rises to 489.4, while in areas with high copper pollution, it increases to 304.2.
Manganese is a trace element, and consuming small amounts from food or drinking water is essential for maintaining health. However, exposure to excessive manganese, particularly in industrial settings—such as inhaling it from the air or ingesting it through contaminated water or food—can be harmful. According to the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATS), high concentrations of manganese may lead to brain damage.
Certain occupations, such as welding or working in steel manufacturing plants, may increase the risk of exposure to high levels of manganese, the ATS notes.
Areas with high lead emissions did not show a significant increase in Parkinson’s disease rates. However, earlier studies linking lead exposure to Parkinson’s disease found elevated lead levels in the bones of Parkinson’s patients, Willis noted.
Willis speculated that, in addition to industrial emissions and water pollution, other sources of lead exposure—such as contaminated paint—could also be significant factors in Parkinson’s disease.
For the full article, see the ENS report.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……rl/ d/ a/ 101109/ 109/ 2gjsk. html
Parkinson's Disease Linked to Urban Pollutants
Excerpted and translated from an ENS report on November 2, 2010, in St. Louis, Missouri; compiled by Hong Meihui; reviewed by Cai Liling.
According to a study analyzing 35,000 Parkinson’s disease patients by scientists from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, high concentrations of manganese and copper pollution in urban areas increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
The research team found that people living in areas with higher manganese pollution had a 78% greater risk of developing Parkinson’s disease compared to those residing in pollution-free areas.
High concentrations of copper in the environment raised the risk of Parkinson’s disease by 11%.
"We track patients, examine their history of exposure to pollutants, their condition, and their response to treatment. If these studies can confirm the correlation, then we will need to reassess the emission limits of these pollutants in the environment," said Dr. Allison Wright Willis, assistant professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine.
The study compared medical record data with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s industrial emissions reports. The findings were published in the *American Journal of Epidemiology*.
"Since 1988, any factory or industry emitting more than the permitted levels of any of the 650 regulated pollutants must report to the EPA," said Dr. Willis. "We used that data to identify areas with high concentrations of manganese, copper, and lead pollution and compared them to areas with little or no such pollutants."
The study examined pollutant emissions from various industries across different geographic regions.
"No single industry is the culprit," Dr. Willis said. "Industries emitting manganese, copper, and lead include food, tobacco, beverages, wood products, furniture, clothing, and stonework. Others include electronics, computers, metal processing, chemical equipment, and metal mining."
The researchers were surprised by the socioeconomic status of high-pollution areas; many were middle- or even high-income regions rather than impoverished or economically deprived areas.
According to the National Institutes of Health, at least 500,000 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, with about 50,000 new cases each year.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder first described in 1817 by a London physician, Dr. James Parkinson, after whom the disease is named.
The gradual loss of cells in a small part of the brain leads to a deficiency of dopamine, a chemical that transmits messages in the brain. Symptoms include trembling hands, slow movement, stiffness, and loss of balance. Other symptoms include loss of facial expression, reduced speech volume and clarity, difficulty swallowing, dry skin, constipation, urinary difficulties, and depression. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive condition, with symptoms worsening over time.
Many reports link Parkinson’s disease to farming and exposure to agricultural chemicals, but little is known about its urban risk factors.
Dr. Willis and her colleagues focused their study on urban areas to eliminate pesticides as a factor, aiming to investigate other substances that may increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Using medical data, they identified 35,000 Parkinson’s patients who had lived in the same area and had been diagnosed for eight years or more.
After adjusting for age, race, and gender, the study found 274 new cases of Parkinson’s disease per 100,000 people in areas with little or no manganese, copper, or lead pollution.In areas with high manganese pollution, this ratio rises to 489.4, while in areas with high copper pollution, it increases to 304.2.
Manganese is a trace element, and consuming small amounts from food or drinking water is essential for maintaining health. However, exposure to excessive manganese, particularly in industrial settings—such as inhaling it from the air or ingesting it through contaminated water or food—can be harmful. According to the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATS), high concentrations of manganese may lead to brain damage.
Certain occupations, such as welding or working in steel manufacturing plants, may increase the risk of exposure to high levels of manganese, the ATS notes.
Areas with high lead emissions did not show a significant increase in Parkinson’s disease rates. However, earlier studies linking lead exposure to Parkinson’s disease found elevated lead levels in the bones of Parkinson’s patients, Willis noted.
Willis speculated that, in addition to industrial emissions and water pollution, other sources of lead exposure—such as contaminated paint—could also be significant factors in Parkinson’s disease.
For the full article, see the ENS report.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……rl/ d/ a/ 101109/ 109/ 2gjsk. html