Sprays may wilt the brain

LONDON - Gardeners should wear protective clothing when using pesticides, say scientists who have concluded that the chemicals can increase the risk of Parkinson's disease.

Researchers at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland found that the more pesticides gardeners are exposed to, the more likely they are to develop the degenerative brain disease.

"The results reinforce the need for amateur gardeners and farmers to wear protective equipment when spraying pesticides," New Scientist magazine said this week.
Anthony Seaton and his team in Aberdeen investigated the background of 767 volunteers in Scotland, Italy, Sweden, Romania and Malta who had Parkinson's disease and compared against 1989 healthy people who had similar backgrounds.

The researchers found that people with the illness were more likely to have used pesticides. Amateur gardeners were 9 per cent more likely to suffer from the disease than non-pesticide users. Farmers were 43 per cent more likely.

"It considerably strengthens the case for pesticides being relevant to occupational risk of Parkinson's disease," said Seaton.

The study does not name which pesticides could be to blame.

- REUTERS