Common dry-cleaning chemical may be fueling rise in PARKINSON’S disease cases, study warns

A common chemical used to steam clean clothes may be fueling the rise of the world’s fastest-growing brain disorder: Parkinson’s disease, a study suggests.

Trichlorethylene (TCE) has been used for 100 years to decaffeinate coffee, degrease metal and dry clean clothes.

It has been banned by the food and pharmaceutical industries since the 1970s, but is still used in many states in household products such as cleaning cloths, aerosol cleaners, tool cleaners, paint removers, spray adhesives, and carpet cleaners and stain removers.

A review of existing research has linked the chemical to Parkinson’s disease based on years of accumulating evidence.

Lead author Dr. Ray Dorsey, from the University of Rochester, New York, said: “For more than a century, TCE has threatened workers, contaminating the air we breathe – both indoors and out – and contaminating the water we drink. Resins are used worldwide, don’t diminish.”

A global study in 2013 found that it increased the risk of the neurological disorder sixfold. TCE is still used as a degreasing agent.

Dr. Dorsey and colleagues say the toxic chemical may be fueling the rising number of Parkinson’s disease cases around the world.

About one million people in the US currently suffer from the condition. Doctors diagnose 60,000 Americans each year.

Brian Grant, who spent 12 years in the NBA, was struck down at age 36.

He was probably exposed to TCE when he was three years old. His father, then a Marine, was stationed at Camp Lejeune, where it contaminated the US military base.

Amy Lindberg was similarly exposed there while serving as a young Navy captain. 30 years later, she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The study describes others whose exposure resulted from living near a contaminated site or working with the chemical.

Among them is the late U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, who resigned from office following his diagnosis in 2015.

Fifty years earlier, he served in the Georgia Air National Guard, which used TCE to degrease airplanes.

There are thousands of polluted sites in the US alone. Cleaning and containment must be accelerated, say the researchers.

They call for more research to better understand how TCE contributes to Parkinson’s disease and other diseases.

TCE levels in groundwater, drinking water, soil and outdoor and indoor air require closer monitoring and this information should be shared with those who live and work near contaminated sites.

In addition, they call for finally an end to the use of these chemicals.

Two states, Minnesota and New York, have banned TCE, but the federal government has not, despite findings by the Environment Protection Agency last year that they pose “an unreasonable risk to human health.”

Previous research suggests a delay of up to 40 years between TCE exposure and Parkinson’s onset – presenting a critical opportunity.

There are six million people with the disease worldwide, including 145,000 in the UK.

Famous patients include Sir Billy Connolly, Michael J Fox and Neil Diamond. The study is in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease.

The research involved a team of experts from the Netherlands, New York, California and Alabama and was published in the Journal of Parkinson’s disease.

It builds on decades of research linking long-term exposure to the chemical to Parkinson’s disease, a progressive disease that causes nerve cells called neurons in the basal ganglia to become damaged or die, reducing levels of a chemical in the body. the brain, called dopamine, which is vital for controlling the body, is lowered. movement.

Sufferers often experience stiff muscles that cause the person to freeze, as well as tremors, balance problems, and slowed movements. Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological disorder in the world, with the number of deaths and disabilities from Parkinson’s disease outpacing any other disorder.