Brain Injury And Pesticide Exposure Combo May Triple Parkinson’s Risk

Having a head injury can be risky enough, but a new study finds people who suffered a traumatic brain injury and lived in area with exposure to the pesticide called paraquat may be three times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.

“While each of these two factors is associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s on their own, the combination is associated with greater risk than just adding the two factors together,” explains study author Dr. Beate Ritz, a professor of epidemiology and environmental health sciences at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health.