New research suggests exposure to pesticides at home increases the risk of Parkinson's disease. The study, conducted by Stanford University's School of Medicine, determined that patients newly diagnosed with Parkinson's were twice as likely to have been exposed to pesticides as people in a control group free of the disease.

Damage to nerve cells in the region of the brain called the substantia nigra causes the movement difficulties that characterize Parkinson's disease. It is thought that some chemicals, including several commonly used in pesticides, have a particular affinity for this part of the brain. Occupational exposure to pesticides already has been associated with increased risk of the disease, which effects more than 500,000 people in the United States.

Scripps Howard News Service, May 20, 2000

As a note: Just 3 years ago we were told that pesticides are safe and share no health risks. After the pesticide spraying in Los Angeles about 3 years, the incidents of Parkinson's has been on the rise.