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From: The (Hamilton) Spectator, Friday, Sept. 22, 1995 (from Canadian Press)
Toronto
"A new study suggests that elderly Canadians with Parkinson's disease have
had greater exposure to glues, paints and gasoline than seniors who are
free of the diseease.
 
The findings, published recently in the Canadian Journal of Neurological
Sciences, were based on a survey of 87 patients with Parkinson's and
2,070 elderly people without the degenerative disease.
 
The study asked participants about past exposure to certain substances in
their jobs or through hobbies.
 
The Parkinson's patients were almost nine times more likely to have been
exposed to plastic resins, the study said, and almost seven times more
likely to have had contact with epoxy resins.
 
Exposure to plastic cement and glues, aerosol spray paints and gasoline
fuel were also higher in the Parkinson's group.
 
Dr. Truls Ostybe, co-author of the study, described epoxy resins as a
type of glue used in, among other things, electrical insulation, while
plastic resins may be used by plumbers or carpenters.
 
Parkinson's is a brain-related disease that affects up to two people in a
thousand, generally over 55.  Its symptoms include tremors and it
renders patients immobile."