A researcher at the University of Wollongong in Australia has received funding of nearly 400,000 Australian dollars (about $250,000) to investigate the links between environmental toxins, such as pesticides and nanoplastics, and Parkinson’s disease. The funding, from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the…

Researchers have developed a “double-hit” rat model of Parkinson’s disease wherein neurodegeneration is driven by both genetic susceptibility and environmental exposure to toxins. The rats were genetically engineered to accumulate human alpha-synuclein protein in the brain like existing models, but were also injected with an inflammation-inducing toxin. The animals…

Potential environmentally-driven alterations in certain epigenetic marks — DNA modifications that control gene activity — were detected in the blood of people with newly diagnosed, treatment-naïve, sporadic Parkinson’s disease, a study revealed. These epigenetic marks were linked with cellular processes driving ongoing neurodegeneration that underlies Parkinson’s, and changed over…

People exposed to high levels of the pesticides and herbicides often used in farming have up to a 36% greater risk of Parkinson’s disease than those living in regions with the lowest exposure, a U.S. study reports. The work, to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN)…

Nanoplastics — very tiny particles found in the environment when plastic breaks down — that reach a person’s brain can increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease or its progression by prompting the protein alpha-synuclein to clump and turn toxic. “A recent study found that polystyrene plastic pollution, among a…

People living in areas with high levels of an air pollutant called fine particulate matter (PM2.5) — whose sources include power plants, motorized vehicles, and fires — are at greater risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a U.S. study. “We found a nationwide association between Parkinson’s disease and air pollution…

Exposure to airborne pollutants, which is rising as a result of climate change, appears to increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease, according to a review study into how a changing environment can affect human health. Air pollutants and other aspects of climate change also were found to associate with…

Scientists have compared three techniques – handwriting, cameras, and wearable sensors – and found sensors to be the most reliable in diagnosing Parkinson’s disease, although they are uncomfortable for patients in the later stages of the disease. “Not all people with Parkinson’s show each and every symptom of the…

No significant correlation was found between the consumption of well water and the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to the results of a pooled analysis of multiple studies. However, there was a high degree of variability — what scientists call heterogeneity — between the selected studies, with some…

Head trauma causing a person to black out, and lead exposure — even through hobbies — may more than double a person’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a study of people in the New England area. Having a close relative with this disease was also identified as…