Environmental Toxin Linked to Parkinson's
MONDAY, June 21 (HealthDayNews) -- Environmental toxins called proteasome inhibitors cause a Parkinson's disease (news - web sites)-like movement disorder in rats, according to new research.
The findings suggest that these natural toxins may contribute to the development of Parkinson's in humans. Proteasome inhibitors are produced by bacteria and fungi. Human-made proteasome inhibitors also find their way into the environment.
"These results suggest that we should determine how widespread these toxins are in the environment, how humans are exposed to them, and how such exposures correlate with the incidence of Parkinson's disease," study lead author Kevin St. P. McNaught, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said in a prepared statement.
The study appears in the online edition of the journal Annals of Neurology.