Brief Communication
Diorthosubstituted Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Caudate Nucleus in Parkinson's Disease

https://doi.org/10.1006/exnr.1998.6776Get rights and content

Abstract

As it had previously been demonstrated that there were reduced brain dopamine concentrations in monkeys who had been given polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) chronically, we hypothesized that organochlorine compounds in general, and PCBs in particular, might be important in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). In a study of caudate nucleus obtained post mortem from patients with Parkinson's disease and from controls, there were significantly higher concentrations of the organochlorine insecticide dieldrin and the PCB congener 153 in the PD tissue. DDE, PCB congener 180, and total PCBs (matched with a commercial preparation) also tended to be higher in Parkinson's disease tissue. We think that this is important preliminary evidence that diorthosubstituted PCBs may contribute to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, and a greater presence of organochlorine insecticides in the PD tissue suggests that this may be in part the explanation for the association between PD and rural living.

References (15)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (147)

  • Neurotoxicity of pesticides – A link to neurodegeneration

    2022, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text