Mystery of America’s ‘Parkinson’s Belt’ where chemicals ‘are causing a frightening rise in brain-destroying diseases’
Scientists are seeing a disturbing trend in several places in the country: the number of cases of Parkinson’s disease is increasing.
Experts suspect that exposure to agricultural chemicals and factory fumes are to blame for the U-shaped portion of the U.S., where rates of the debilitating disease are nearly 50 percent higher than the national average.
Southern CaliforniaThe Sunbelt and Rustbelt states make up the area experts call America’s “Parkinson’s Belt.”
Dr. Tim Greenamyre, director of the Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, conducted laboratory studies on one of the chemicals thought to be a factor: a pesticide known as Rotenone
A few years ago he noticed that his left arm no longer swung when he walked and that he could no longer smell.
This map shows the number of people with Parkinson’s per 100,000 people in the U.S., using data from 6,866,623 people with Medicare in 2012. Southern California, the Sunbelt and Rustbelt states make up the region experts call America’s “Parkinson’s Belt.”
It turns out that Dr. Greenamyre himself had developed the disease he was studying. There is no cure for this disease, which slowly erodes a person’s control over their body, eventually causing death.
The Pennsylvania doctor suspects he contracted the disease from the chemicals he was testing in the lab, which could be one reason why the disease rates are so high in his area.
“I suspect that my lab work creating a model of Parkinson’s disease led to me developing Parkinson’s disease,” says Dr. Greenamyre. told NBC News.
A 2022 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania identified clusters of Parkinson’s disease in South America. CaliforniaSouth-East Texas, Florida and Central PennsylvaniaMost are located in or near large industrial or agricultural enterprises, or both.
Dr. Tim Greenamyre, director of the Pittsburgh Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, developed the disease he wanted to study
These clusters have led researchers such as Dr. Ray Dorsey, a neurologist at the University of Rochester, to conclude that there is something in the environment that increases the local risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Doctor Dorsey told NBC News: ‘If Parkinson’s disease were just a coincidence, you wouldn’t expect to see higher rates in certain parts of the country or other parts of the world than other parts.’
His theory is that chemicals released from work in historic factories and farms contribute to the risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Pittsburgh used to produce half the nation’s steel – and in doing so, it released chemicals into surrounding homes. The problem was so bad it was once known as ‘smoke town’.
With this history in mind, Dr. Dorsey focused his laboratory work a chemical called trichloroethylene (TCE), a chemical used in dry cleaning, degreasing, and the production of disinfectants, dyes, perfumes, and soaps. Degreasers are often used in the steelmaking process.
The EPA took tough action against this chemical in 2023, propose a ban on all uses of TCE, which they deemed “extremely toxic.” It has been linked to cancer, nerve damage and reproductive problems.
In a 2023 studyAccording to Dr. Dorsey, studies have also shown that the chemical increases the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by 500 percent.
They don’t yet know exactly how the chemical does this, but they suspect it may change the way brain cells use energy, the study said.
Other labs, such as Dr. Greenamyre’s, are focusing on agriculture, not industry, to see if there is a link to the neurodegenerative disease.
Rotenone is a chemical used nationwide as a pesticide on crops and livestock, to control fish populations, and by hobby gardeners.
Parts of the Parkinson Belt are in agricultural areas, such as Kern County, California, where almonds, grapes, and citrus are grown, and it is possible that this pesticide has been or is currently used.
Starting in the 1990s, Dr. Greenmyre began researching this chemical. In 2011A study found that farmers who used rotenone were 2.5 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than farmers who did not.
In 2000, Dr. Greenmyre and his team published a study in Nature which showed that rats developed movement problems within three months after injection with rotenone.
After nine months, the chemical had caused changes in their brains similar to what you see in a human patient with Parkinson’s disease.
Sometimes, while studying the chemical, it would get on his gloves, Dr. Greenmyre recalled in the Science magazine in 2023. This experience would come back to him when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2021. He suspected there was a connection to his research.
“The irony is obvious,” said Dr. Greenmyre.
In response, the EPA has twice restricted rotenone’s use and made it unavailable to home gardeners. However, with some red tape, it is still available, and the EPA said there is “insufficient evidence” to link the chemical to Parkinson’s.
About 1 million people in the US currently live with this condition- the Parkinson Foundation estimates that this number will rise to 1.2 million by 2030.
Experts speculate that President Joe Biden is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, although this has never been confirmed
Walking difficulty affects about 90 percent of Parkinson’s patients (Biden falls during Air Force event in 2023)
This is because life expectancy has generally increased worldwide, meaning there are more elderly people and more people in total being diagnosed with all kinds of neurodegenerative diseases – from Parkinson’s to Alzheimer’s.
Some estimates suggest that with 90,000 new patients Parkinson’s disease is diagnosed every year and is the fastest growing degenerative disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a disorder that affects the nervous system, causing the cells responsible for controlling movement to break down. Both world-famous boxer Muhammad Ali and actor Michael J Fox have been diagnosed with the disease.
Early symptoms may include tremor, slowed movements, stiff muscles, and changes in speech and writing. Over time, these symptoms become worse and affect every muscle in the body, often leaving a person confined to a wheelchair.
Although the disease itself is usually not fatal, it does cause complications that are, such as an increased risk of falls or the chance of developing pneumonia.
Doctors don’t know what causes the disease – it’s thought genetics could be responsible for about 15 percent of cases.
The clusters observed in the United States support the theory that 85 percent of cases are related to another factor, such as environment.
Because researchers have not yet identified the cause of the disease, there are few treatment options available.
The standard treatment, which involves taking two pills, Carbidopa and levodopa, has been the standard for decades. It doesn’t stop the progression of the disease, but it can help people manage their symptoms early on.