一項新的研究指出，使用農藥魚藤酮(Rotenone)與巴拉刈和帕金森氏症具有關聯性。跨國研究團隊證實了，只要曾經使用過其中一種農藥，罹患帕金森氏症的機率是一般未曾使用者的2.5倍。
此項研究是由位在加州的美國國家健康中心、帕金森氏症臨床研究中心與其所屬的美國國家環境健康科學中心研究團隊共同合作之研究成果。
「魚藤酮直接抑制細胞內製造能量的粒腺體(mitochondria)之功能」，國家環境健康中心研究學者、也是此項研究刊登在《環境與健康展望期刊》的共同作者之一佛雷亞卡邁勒博士(Freya Kamel)表示，「巴拉刈會製造更多氧氣的衍生物(oxygen derivatives)，可能會導致細胞結構的傷害，民眾使用此兩種農藥或是其他具有相似機轉的農藥，更有可能發展出帕金森氏症。」
研究學者在農業運動評估計畫(FAME)分析了110位帕金森氏症患者與358位對照組，比較其暴露在除草劑等農藥和其它神經性毒物與帕金森氏症的關係。
此項病例對照研究(case-control study)也是包含在農業運動評估研究計畫(FAME)以及農業健康研究計畫中，蒐集了9000位具有證照的農藥使用者與其配偶的資訊。
研究員藉由詳細的訪談以及運動障礙專家評估，確診出帕金森氏症與終生使用農藥的關係。帕金森氏症臨床研究中心負責人、也是此篇研究的主要作者卡洛琳坦娜(Caroline Tanner)指出，「這項發現幫助我們了解帕金森氏症的生理變化，以及對於帕金森氏症治療與最終的預防隱含重大的意義。」
目前美國聯邦政府尚未核准一般住家庭園使用此兩種農藥，基於帕金森氏症動物模式研究的隱憂，巴拉刈長期以來受限制僅能使用在特定用途上。
巴拉刈是德國巴塞爾 Syntenga公司所出產的除草劑Gramoxone主要成分，對於草本植物影響極其廣泛，也被視為世上最危險與最具爭議性的農藥之一。巴拉刈具劇毒性，且缺乏解毒劑，對人體會導致嚴重的健康危害，甚至可導致死亡。研究也發現此農藥對小型哺乳動物與鳥類造成副作用，並可能會殘留累積在土壤內。
巴拉刈曾經被美國政府用來消除墨西哥和哥倫比亞當地的大麻。先前的研究發現，此種除草劑不僅毒害施用農藥的工人，甚至吸食噴灑過農藥的大麻，也都會受到危害。
在瑞典，巴拉刈從1983起禁用。2007年7月，歐盟初審法庭也裁定禁用，駁回了歐盟執委會2003年的核准，當時的裁判理由指出，巴拉刈與帕金森氏症的關連性研究尚未建立。
魚藤酮是美國環保署唯一許可、用來消滅外來魚種的環境用藥，近來多用於消除芝加哥水道系統的外來物種亞洲鯉魚。
美國環保署聲稱，魚藤酮對野生動物與人類的毒性等級是「低」等級，建議用來消除亞洲鯉魚的用量也不會對鳥類或哺乳動物造成毒害。
魚藤酮是從數種熱帶和亞熱帶豆科植物根部所提煉的天然物質，在北美使用魚藤酮可追溯到1930年代，最早使用於池塘與湖泊的魚類取樣作業，或是用來完全消除不受歡迎的魚類族群。
魚藤酮非長效性，因此不會殘留聚集在土壤、水中或動植物體內。魚藤酮會快速分解成二氧化碳和水；但是用魚藤酮處理過的水體若移出到其他區域，必須以高錳酸鉀當作魚藤酮的去活性劑，才能確保水體裡的魚類和水生物不會受到危害。
New research shows a link between use of two pesticides, rotenone and paraquat, and Parkinson's disease. An international research team has demonstrated that the people they studied who used either pesticide developed Parkinson's disease approximately 2.5 times more often than non-users.
The study was a collaborative effort conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIEHS, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center in Sunnyvale, California.
"Rotenone directly inhibits the function of the mitochondria, the structure responsible for making energy in the cell," said Freya Kamel, PhD, a researcher in the intramural program at NIEHS and co-author of the paper appearing online in the journal "Environmental Health Perspectives."
"Paraquat increases production of certain oxygen derivatives that may harm cellular structures," said Kamel. "People who used these pesticides or others with a similar mechanism of action were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease."
The authors studied 110 people with Parkinson's disease and 358 matched controls from the Farming and Movement Evaluation Study to investigate the relationship between Parkinson's disease and exposure to pesticides or other agents that are toxic to nervous tissue.
FAME is a case-control study that is part of the larger Agricultural Health Study, a study of farming and health in some 90,000 licensed pesticide applicators and their spouses.
The investigators diagnosed Parkinson's disease by agreement of movement disorder specialists and assessed the lifelong use of pesticides using detailed interviews.
"These findings help us to understand the biologic changes underlying Parkinson's disease, said Caroline Tanner, MD, PhD, clinical research director of the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center, and lead author of the article.
"This may have important implications for the treatment and ultimately the prevention of Parkinson's disease," she said.
No home garden or residential uses for either paraquat or rotenone are currently approved by the U.S. federal government.
Paraquat use has long been restricted to certified applicators, due to concerns based on studies of animal models of Parkinson's disease. The chemical controls a broad spectrum of weeds.
Paraquat is considered one of the most dangerous and controversial herbicides in the world and is the main ingredient in Basel-based Syntenga`s weedkiller Gramoxone.
Its high toxicity and lack of antidote can lead to serious ill-health, and even death. Studies also indicate that paraquat has adverse effects on small mammals and birds, and may accumulate in soil.
Paraquat was once promoted by the United States for use in Mexico and Colombia to destroy marijuana plants. Previous research has found that this herbicide is dangerous both to workers who applied it to the plants and to people who smoked the marijuana harvested from them.
In Sweden, paraquat has been banned since 1983. In July 2007 the EU Court of First Instance banned paraquat saying that when the European Commission approved its use four years earlier, the required review of literature on potential links between paraquat and the Parkinson disease was not done.
Use of rotenone as a pesticide to kill invasive fish species is currently the only allowable use of this pesticide. It is approved for this use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Rotenone has been used recently to kill invasive Asian carp the Chicago Area Waterway System.
The EPA calls the toxicity of rotenone to wildlife and humans "low" and says no poisoning of birds or mammals would result from concentrations recommended for wiping out Asian carp.
Rotenone is a natural substance derived from the roots of several tropical and subtropical plants in the bean family. Use of rotenone in North America began in the 1930s in ponds and lakes as a tool to sample fish populations or to completely eradicate undesirable fish populations.
Rotenone is non-persistent, so there is no accumulation in the water, soil, plants or animals. Rotenone quickly breaks down into carbon dioxide and water, but in situations where treated water is likely to move outside of the direct area of application, rotenone must be deactivated with potassium permanganate to ensure that fish and aquatic life outside the treatment area will not be harmed.
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