Pesticides and Parkinson’s Study

We are conducting this study in collaboration with the Indianapolis Veteran’s Administration to learn more about potential risk factors of Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease.
Neurodegenerative diseases involve the death of nerve cells
causing problems with movement and mental functioning which
can be the results of environmental exposure, genetics, or a
combination of both. We want to learn more about the factors
that may be associated with Parkinson’s disease.

Chlorpyrifos

Chlorpyrifos is a widely used pesticide. Research suggests
exposure to chlorpyrifos may be linked to Parkinson’s Disease.
Chlorpyrifos exposure is of concern to the general public, but
military personnel are likely to have had especially high levels of
exposure due its high usage in the military. We would like to
study the possible association between chlorpyrifos exposure
and Parkinson’s Disease.

Study progress

We are currently recruiting US veterans for this study. We are collecting questionnaire information and saliva samples from our study participants. We will use all this information to look at the relationship between historic pesticide exposure and Parkinson’s disease.

Study materials