Do environmental toxins cause Parkinsons disease?
It has been hypothesized that exposure to environmental toxins plays an important role in the etiology of Parkinson’s disease (Cell Tissue Res 2004; 318:225-41). In support of this association, fruit flies that lack a gene linked to the disease have been shown to be sensitive to the herbicide paraquat and the insecticide rotenone. Parkinson’s disease, the second most common age-related neurode-generative disorder, occurs in both sporadic and inherited forms. The sporadic forms of Parkinson’s disease have been associated with exposure to environmental toxins, which are thought to cause oxidative damage to the brain; the inherited forms are linked to gene mutations (Cell Tissue Res 2004;318: 225-41). One such mutation occurs in the human gene DJ1, which the fruit fly Drosophila also possesses in 2 separate versions, DJ1A and DJ1B. Marc Meulener and colleagues recently created fruit flies lacking both forms of the DJ1 gene in an attempt to better understand their function. The flies, whic
