The Parkinson's Pandemic

THE PARKINSON’S PANDEMIC AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO ABOUT IT

Parkinson’s disease is the world’s fastest growing neurological condition. This rapid growth is explained only in part by the ageing of our population, and cannot be attributed to better diagnostic skills or an improvement in ancillary testing methods. Genetics offer only limited explanation for the occurrence of Parkinson’s disease worldwide. In my presentation, Prof Bloem discusses how the presence of environmental factors play an important role in causing Parkinson’s disease. This includes toxic chemicals such as pesticides or trichloroethylene, other factors such as repeated head trauma, but also protective factors such as exercise or a healthy diet. A better insight into the factors that contribute to the rise of Parkinson’s, and also into factors that might help to prevent this pandemic from taking shape, offers the basis for creating a menu of interventions and strategies that can help to turn the tide so that we can ultimately work towards prevention of Parkinson’s disease.

[craigzdyb]

I'm originally from Zambia. After completing my agricultural training in neighbouring Zimbabwe in the early 90's I went back to Zambia and was horrified at the local farmers laid back attitude to handling all agro-chemicals. The farming district of M'kushi was known as "Happy Valley" because of the high incidence of widows on the farms in their late 30's & early 40's whose husbands had succumbed to various diseases, mainly cancer. Guess what? These widows all started to get actively involved in the day to day operations on these farms, ( some with the aid of younger farm managers, Happy Valley remember) and also started to develop various types of cancer in their late 50's & early 60's. Now I realise that correlation is not necessarily causation, but lighting doesn't often strike in the same place with such monotonous regularity. Go figure...

[upstumps]

I was formally diagnosed with Parkinsons in 2018. So many of the causal factors mentioned in this lecture. I also suffered from a significant brain concussion trauma after falling off a 5 metre tank during my years working as a instrumentation apprentice tradesman.
I have been exposed to many, many, chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, commercial solvents and heavy metals during my career as a tradesman in petrochemical, mining and other chemical industries as a instrumentation mechanic and software engineer. It was part of my everyday workplace. Carbon tetrachloride, ether, solvents to clean electronic circuit boards, Glyptal isolation paint for electric motors.
The first encounter I recall of my exposure to poisons was when my father dusted all us children with DDT when we had a tick infestation in town. It must have worked – at least we did not get tick bite fever.
At home we had a very big orchard that was kept bug and weed free. I remember little brown bottles of Parathion, MerCaptan, Dieldrin, Rogor, Malathion, DDT and Metasystox. I thought myself as a budding little scientist and spent many joyful hours mixing together in the garage with no protective gear. PPE was unknown in the 60’s.
In the workshop we had numerous Mercury filled manometers and other test gear. The tubes were often over-pressured and burst sending a rainstorm of slivery droplets all over the floor. It was my job as the apprentice to collect it off the floor, clean it and fixing the manometer.
In the armed forces we discovered that rubbing our brass regimental insignias with mercury caused the mercury to bond to the brass, making it look like it was chrome plated. The effect only lasted about three of four days before you had to repeat the process.
I had a hobby of making stained glass lampshades and windows. About 4 years of soldering them, breathing the lead fumes.
In retrospect I remember three occasions between 1975 and 2002 where I simply lost my balance while standing still and just fell over like a log.
The next phase I remember was between 2005 and 2012 where I became aware of many things just starting to stink and then slowly losing the ability to smell any aromas. The last thing I could smell was Teatree oil and nothing after that.
In 2017 I noticed a sensation of wanting to fall over forward, my first involuntary tremors in my thumb which just waved in the wind. My handwriting started changing and my voice started becoming very hoarse.
In 2018 I was officially diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

[rhondarandall]

I have read many of the messages. I have one member of my family who had parkisons for many yrs before passing away in 2019. He was on the Autistic spectrum and a professor lecturing all around the world in pure matematics and black holes. He was NEVER EXPOSED TO ANY CHEMICALS. Many of my famiky are on the autistic spectrum and both my brothers and my eldest son have had a family TREMOUR SINCE CHILDHOOD. About 9 yrs ago my doctor told me i have the begining of Parkinsons.I was injured badly in a car accident in 1968 and 2 others the last of which was very bad and was very traumatic and took yrs to recover. I AM OF THE FIRM BELIEF THEIR IS NO ONE CAUSE OF PARKINSONS. Im staying positive manage ALL my own health on NO medications and my mild symptoms in my left arm have not changed❤

[ellenorbovay]

I work in antennas, and I have worked with two antenna technicians that came down with Parkinson's. The only thing I can think of that they had in common was that they both had to do a lot of soldering, and when you solder there is flux and gases that are released from the molten metals. Also they sometimes use solvents, and possibly TCE in the past. I think it was outlawed some time in the '90's.

[tnekkc]

I was a janitor at a Monsanto distillery on the Duwamish river in 1975 when I called the EPA about a spill. They had no one to send, but I got Parkinson's in 2022.

[kobi]

I have a mountain of respect for this gentleman.

[AmyHansen-vn]

Mens jobs over the past years included more dangerous chemicals, mining, etc... my aunt has it and its from years of running a plant business. Pesticides.

[richardtunstall]

About twenty years ago a news item in the New Scientist mentioned that the UK record Lettuce crop had been sprayed
42 times. I now eat Organic! And rejoice if a lettuce has green or blackfly, or a cabbage has got a healthy caterpillar.
And I suspect that any 'civilised' brain would welcome a teaspoon or two of an omega-3 oil.

[AmyHansen-vn]

Sorry for all the comments. This sounds like the dupont company and their negligence with teflon. I believe we are only just beginning to figure out what we've done. What corporate america and the elite have done to us and our planet.

[HuntBobo]

I’ll be dead of old age before the environmental toxic chemicals have degraded if they were all banned today. But we have to do this for our children.

[lindacrist]

My grand mother. And my mother had parkinson don't want it horrible disease. Didn't understand just how much they sufferred. They both set me an example I will never live up to

[Itsme-jvcd]

Such an intelligent man who wants to do something meaningful to halt this disease.

[gail]

Fight the good fight! Thank you, Gail RN

[susanedghill]

I’m 75 and have had it for at least 10 yrs I hate the rigidity and no sleep !! Horrible painful disease !!

[phyllisheiderscheit]

My 48yr old son went from stage1 Parkinson’s to stage 4 in less than 2 months after taking 2 jabs of the Covid19 jabs in 2021. He is now so bad that he just had the DBS procedure on his brain. My advise is beware of taking the Covid19 jabs and boosters if you have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.

[TheLittleEconomist]

Another amazing talk from Bas. I’ve only been diagnosed for just over a year, grew up in the countryside, participated in a lot of sport in the countryside and continued to live mostly in the countryside.

I’ve been sprayed by crop spray twice, cycled frequently through fields of rapeseed, lived in wine growing country in NZ, drank lots of water from taps, eat cheese and have always drunk decaf coffee alongside regular coffee. My gut told me the pesticides played a role. Oh and I’m vegetarian so eat lots of vegetables and grains. Thank you so much for providing a scientific explanation.

Coming for a sports background, I am using sport to help control the speed of progression. Dance is helping with reprogramming.boxing with frustration, tai chi with calming thoughts and walking still in the countryside helps with my mental health.

[helen]

this is amazing I am going to pass this onto a couple of people I know how have been diagnosed with Parkinsons seems staying away from pesticides is a good idea & I always knew decaffeinated coffee was a bad idea

[tompilling]

Inputs that help my Mom's parkinsons are methylene blue and tyrosine. The tyrosine is very important for dopamine synthesis.

[KJSvitko]

Pesticides, fertilizers and chemicals are everywhere around us.
All processed foods have too much salt, oils, sugars and chemical additives in them.

[dogphlap]

I'd like to know more about the graph at 5:00. It appears to have been constructed with just 3 known points i.e. 1990, 2015 and 2020, the remaining 4 points being in the future (which does fit the title of the graph but I still find this worrying). Even a linear graph drawn with just 3 known points is a little suspect but the curve presented is anything but linear.