Murray and others,

Reading the press release below, about insecticides and Parkinson's, a
new thought came to mind (a rather rare happening, in my case).

I wonder whether the chemical agents used during wars -- Agent Orange
for example, or the enriched Uranium used in the '91 Gulf war or in
this one, or the gas that Hussein used against the Kurds -- increase
the incidence of conditions like Parkinson's or other neurological
problems.

Has anyone in this group seen any information related to this?

Raymond Barglow

On Wednesday, March 26, 2003, at 11:19  AM, Murray Charters wrote:

> Public release date: 24-Mar-2003
>
> Contact: Jeff Bloomquist
> [log in to unmask]
> 540-231-6129
> Virginia Tech
>
> Study of insecticide neurotoxicity yields clues to onset of
> Parkinson's Disease
>
> BLACKSBURG, Va., March 24, 2003 -- A grant from the U.S. Army has led
> Virginia Tech researchers to discover that exposure to some
> insecticides may cause a cascade of chemical events in the brain that
> could lead to Parkinson's Disease.
>
> Jeffrey R. Bloomquist, a neurotoxicologist and associate professor in
> the university's Department of Entomology, will describe his findings
> as part of the International Award for Research in Agrochemicals, a
> symposium honoring Robert M. Hollingworth, at the annual meeting of
> the American Chemical Society in New Orleans this week.
>
> "We found low-level exposures set in motion a process with an early
> onset that develops slowly and is persistent," Bloomquist said. "More
> surprising is that high-level exposures resulted in few immediate
> effects that we could observe, but in the longer term there was a
> delayed effect."
>
> The Virginia Tech researchers studied the levels of dopamine,
> dopamine transporter protein expression, and the levels of a synaptic
> protein (alpha-synuclein) in mice exposed to various doses of the
> insecticide permethrin. The increase in dopamine uptake indicated the
> mouse's system was reacting to a neurochemical insult caused by the
> presence of the insecticide. The slow response to high levels of
> exposure to pesticides is caused, Bloomquist thinks, by the system
> being overloaded and only after a period of a few weeks is it capable
> of responding to the insult in the same way as low doses.
>
> In some individuals, dopamine-producing neurons may be challenged by
> genetic factors or by previous exposure to other neurotoxins. For
> individuals with a genetic predisposition, exposure to permethrin may
> trigger chemical events in the brain that result in an increased risk
> for damage to the area of the brain that is selectively damaged in
> Parkinson's disease.
>
> The loss of motor skills, resulting in symptoms such as muscle
> rigidity, shuffling gait, and a rhythmic tremor, has been linked to
> the loss of dopamine production in the brain. That loss of dopamine
> is the major neurochemical expression of Parkinson's Disease.
>
> "Our studies have documented low-dose effects of permethrin, doses
> below one-one thousandth of a lethal dose for a mouse, with effects
> on those brain pathways involved in Parkinson's Disease," he said.
> "We have found effects consistent with a pre-parkinsonsian condition,
> but not yet full-blown parkinsonism."
>
> Bloomquist also found permethrin exposure resulted in an
> overproduction of the protein alpha-synuclein at low doses. The
> accumulation of the protein is a major component of the formation of
> the Lewy bodies, fibrous tangles observed in the brains of patients
> with Parkinson's Disease.
>
> The studies so far have concentrated on two-week exposures in mice.
> Bloomquist hopes to continue the work, looking at longer-term
> exposure. He is also studying the effects of another widely used
> pesticide, chlorpyrifos.
>
> Bloomquist and his co-investigator, Dr. Bradley Klein, are supported
> by a five year, $584,558 grant from the United States Army Medical
> Research and Materiel Command. One purpose of the Neurotoxin Exposure
> Treatment Research Program, under which the project was funded, is to
> determine if military operational and deployment exposures increase
> risks for neurodegenerative disease and, if so, determine means of
> protecting troops.
>
> "Permethrin is used worldwide in agriculture and urban settings,"
> Bloomquist said. "Widespread human exposure to this compound occurs,
> so its effects are not limited to soldiers."
>
> The talk, "Low-dose effects of insecticides to dopaminergic pathways
> involved in parkinsonism" (AGRO 31) will be presented at 2 p.m.
> Monday, March 24, in the Hampton Inn Convention Center Fulton room.
>
> ###
>
> FOR MORE INFORMATION:
> Jeffrey R. Bloomquist, 540-231-6129, [log in to unmask]
>
> Virginia Tech PR CONTACT:
> Stewart MacInnis 540-231-5863, [log in to unmask]
>
> SOURCE: EurkAlert
> http://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-03/vt-soi031903.php
>
> Reference:
>
> Permethrin
> http://www.safe2use.com/poisons-pesticides/pesticides/permethrin/cox-
> report/cox.htm
>
> Permethrin
> Trade and Other Names: Trade names include Ambush, BW-21-Z, Cellutec,
> Dragnet, Ectiban, Eksmin, Exmin, FMC 33297, Indothrin, Kafil,
> Kestrel, NRDC 143, Pounce, PP 557, Pramex, Qamlin, and Torpedo
> http://ace.ace.orst.edu/info/extoxnet/pips/permethr.htm
>
> Some products work and some don't. Some manufacturers care about the
> health of their customers and some only run for the almighty dollar
> and don't care. IF A DISEASES LIKE "DENGUE FEVER" or "MALARIA"
> EXISTED IN THE US, THIS KIND OF LIEING TO THE PUBLIC THROUGH
> DECEPTIVE MARKETING PRACTICES WOULD NOT TO TOLERATED.
>
> ohyeah??  ...  murray
>
> http://www.1800pixtick.com/sx010002.htm
>
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