Link between herbicide Paraquat and Parkinson's Disease

One study shows that farm workers who used the common weedkiller paraquat had two to three times the normal risk of Parkinson’s, a degenerative brain disease that eventually paralyzes patients.

A second study shows that animals exposed to paraquat have a build-up of a protein called alpha-synuclein in their brains. This protein has been linked to Parkinson’s in the past.

A third piece of the puzzle shows that this buildup of protein kills the same brain cells affected in Parkinson’s.

Parkinson’s disease, which affects more than 1 million patients in the United States, is marked by the death of brain cells that produce dopamine.(Read More)

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