Industrial Cleaner..TCE.. Linked to Increased Risk of Parkinson’s Disease
Feb 8th, 2010 | By Debbie Vitez | Section: About Trichloroethylene, better known as TCE.Released: 2/2/2010 12:00 PM EST
Embargo expired:
Source: American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
Newswise — Workers exposed to tricholorethylene (TCE), a chemical widely used to clean metal such as auto parts, may be at a significantly higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto April 10 to April 17, 2010.
“This is the first time a population-based study has confirmed case reports that exposure to TCE may increase a person’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease,” said study author Samuel Goldman, MD, with the Parkinson’s Institute in Sunnyvale, California, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “TCE is a popular industrial solvent that is still widely used to clean grease off metal parts.”
For the study, researchers obtained job histories from 99 pairs of twins in which only one of the twins had Parkinson’s disease. All of the twins were men and identified from the World War II-Veterans Twins Cohort study. Scientists used twins in the study because they are genetically identical or very similar and provide an ideal population for evaluating environmental risk factors.
The study found workers who were exposed to TCE were five and a half times more likely to have Parkinson’s disease than people not exposed to the chemical. Those who were exposed to TCE had job histories including work as dry cleaners, machinists, mechanics or electricians.
The study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, The Valley Foundation and the James and Sharron Clark Family Fund.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 22,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Parkinson’s disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), dementia, epilepsy, and migraine. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology and the AAN Annual Meeting, visit http://www.aan.com.
Non-late-breaking abstracts to be presented at the AAN Annual Meeting will be posted online in advance of the AAN Annual Meeting at 4 pm, ET, Wednesday, February 17, 2010, at http://www.aan.com/go/science/abstracts.
Late-breaking abstracts will not be posted online in advance of the Annual Meeting and will remain embargoed until the date and time of presentation of the late-breaking abstract at the AAN Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10-17, 2010. Late-breaking abstracts will be featured in press release and in press conference at the 2010 AAN Annual Meeting in Toronto. To register to attend the AAN Annual Meeting Press Room in Toronto, visit http://www.aan.com/go/press/registration.
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This is no surprise..
My ex was diagnosed with onset Parkinson’s disease, ( the lady who lived in our home for 13 years prior to us has the same tremor ..( I personally met with her).
The neighbour who lived directly behind our home has full blown Parkinson’s disease,
The neighbour directly across the street from her, had..Parkinson’s disease
and her neighbour ..had.Lou Gehrig disease.. Both since passed..
And yet when all these families questioned our polluter and the DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
THEY WERE TOLD.. no connection between TCE, and their symptoms..
In light of these recent updated findings on Parkinson’s disease…
I forwarded my Health findings from the Bishop Street community, to a group in the States that track all of North America regarding TCE exposure..
I am including two responses I received from them this evening.
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1….Debbie Vitez:
you may want to be looking at the military side of this issue. It mirrors what you are reporting. One Robert O’Dowd may be contacting you. He will direct you to an existing website.
John Uldrich – Team El Toro
RO: I think we should look at this situation relative to today’s medical report on TCE – April’s announcement of the paper on Parkinson’s . . .
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2… I’ve reviewed indoor air sampling from Debbie’s site, and the
concentrations are just about the highest I’ve ever seen indoors (from
vapor intrusion).
Measured concentrations are in the hundreds of
micrograms per cubic meter.
I also want to remind folks about the study of Kentucky factory workers
that shows a dose response relationship between TCE exposure and
Parkinsonism.
Neil originally posted the Lexington Herald-Leader story
in January, 2008 and the New York Times picked it up a year later.
See
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/us/25toxic.html?pagewanted=all
Lenny