"Colorado Researchers Probe Parkinson's Disease Causes, Treatments"

"The corn rows are high and tassled, pumpkins are gaining girth and, amid these signs the fall harvest is near, evidence is growing that farmers and others who live or work around pesticides are at greater risk for neurogenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

There is also new hope as Colorado researchers exploit genetic and other tools to find and test drugs they think have the potential to stop and even reverse the devastating neurological damage of the disease.

Parkinson's is a progressive disorder of the nervous systems — a deficiency in a brain chemical called dopamine — that controls movement. The disease's hallmark symptoms are tremors, stiffness and slow movements. ...

A new examination of the incidence of Parkinson's disease in Colorado shows a strong correlation between levels of a common pesticide, atrazine, in groundwater and the number of Parkinson's cases here — a slightly lower incidence than the national average."

Electa Draper reports for the Denver Post September 1, 2014.