Here's another, tying in environmental exposures, with personality and other
possible predetermining factors:
 
I don't think ya'll can tell from the messages about these abstracts which
I'm sending  here, but I'm also sending copies to congress/senate personnel,
and also to ABCNews, as they've had some recent episodes on Prime Time Live
and/or 20/20 on the subjects of PD & pallidotomies, as well as separate ones
on the health effects of Dioxin and of your average everyday, 'household'
pesticides.  Perhaps I can generate enough interest in further attention to
combo of these issues.
 
By the way:;
 
Ruth - I personally don't know why fertilizers too were studied other than to
get an idea about the effects from all chemicals routinely used by farmers.
 
Dr. Norm Archer -  That's all the info I've got at the moment as to the
details of these studies.  I may eventually try to get full copies of the
articles, which would hopefully have more info.  As to alternatives to these
chemicals, there are many, and I think as Ruth noted, info on them is readily
available, but in order to really have the alternatives incorpoarated into
routine pest management, we need both a change in attitude and the also
difficult change in the entrenched chemical/pesticide industry.  I guess the
only way that'll happen, especially in a political cliimate where the
environment is once again going to get a very short-sighted shaft with much
of the pending legislation, is when People, vs mere animals, are proven to
also be victims.  We have voices, and they don't, so once enough of us get
ill & fed up, maybe they'll listen.  In the meantime, I trying to stir the
pot, and I'm also looking in to volunteering for a local wildlife preserve
which also promotes sustainable use of resources and organic agriculture.  I
can't just complain about these issues, I want to be part of their soluton,
regardless of the final verdict with respect to pd.
 
(That was my little spiel for our hidden audience!).  Anyway, here goes:
************************
 
2
AU  - BELL IR
AU  - SCHWARTZ GE
AU  - AMEND D
AU  - PETERSON JM
AU  - KASZNIAK AW
AU  - MILLER CS
TI  - Psychological characteristics and subjective intolerance for
      xenobiotic agents of normal young adults with trait shyness and
      defensiveness: A Parkinsonian-like personality type?
SI  - BIOSIS/94/26225
SO  - JOURNAL OF NERVOUS AND MENTAL DISEASE; 182 (7). 1994. 367-374.
AB  - BIOSIS  COPYRIGHT: BIOL ABS.  The present study examines the
      psychological characteristics and self-reported responses to
      xenobiotic agents such as tobacco smoke and pesticide of normal
      young adults with personality traits similar to those claimed for
      Parkinsonian patients. Previous research, though controversial,
      has suggested that persons with idiopathic Parkinson's disease
      (PD) have premorbid personality traits that may include shyness
      and repressive defensiveness. Other epidemiological evidence
      indicates that PD  patients may have premorbidly increased
      prevalence of anxiety, affective, and/or somatoform disorders;
      decreased rates of smoking and alcohol consumption; and elevated
      exposure to herbicides or pesticides. A total of 783 college
      students enrolled in an introductory psychology course completed
      the Cheek-Buss Scale (shyness), the Marlowe-Crowne Social
      Desirability Scale (defensiveness), Symptom Checklist 90
      (revised), the Mastery Scale, a health history checklist, and
      rating scales for frequency  of illness front alcohol and 10
      common environmental chemicals. Subjects were divided into four
      groups on the basis of above versus below-median scores on the
      Cheek-Buss and Marlowe-Crowne scales (persons high in shyness and
      defensiveness, those high only in shyness, those high only in
      defensiveness, and those low in both shyness and defensiveness).
      The group high in shyness but low in defensiveness had the
      highest, whereas the group low in shyness but high in
      defensiveness had the lowest,  total scores on the SCL-90-R; the
      two shyest groups were lowest in sense of mastery. Similar to PD,
      the group high in both shyness and defensiveness overall reported
      the least number of smokers (10% vs. 19% in those high only in
      shyness, 17% in those high only in defensiveness, and 28% in
      those low in both traits, p < .001); differences within women
      largely accounted for this finding. Subjects higher in shyness
      and/or defensiveness rated themselves higher in frequency of
      illness from a small  amount of alcohol than did those who were
      low in both shyness and defensiveness. The group who was high in
      both shyness and defensiveness tended to report the highest
      frequency of illness from pesticide as well as other xenobiotic
      odors (e.g., newsprint). Taken together with previous research,
      the findings suggest that certain young adults high in shyness,
      and especially those also high in defensiveness, may be among the
      subset of the population at increased risk for PD later in life.
MH  - HUMAN
MH  - SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
MH  - ECOLOGY
MH  - BEHAVIOR
MH  - HUMAN
MH  - BIOCHEMISTRY
MH  - NERVOUS SYSTEM DISEASES/PATHOLOGY
MH  - MENTAL DISORDERS/THERAPY/PATHOLOGY
MH  - PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
MH  - MENTAL DISORDERS/PHYSIOPATHOLOGY
MH  - PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY
MH  - *POISONING
MH  - ANIMALS, LABORATORY
MH  - ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS/POISONING
MH  - OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
MH  - HERBICIDES
MH  - PEST CONTROL/METHODS
MH  - PESTICIDES
MH  - HOMINIDAE
RN  - 28289-54-5; 110-54-3; 64-17-5