October 20, 2025 • 15 mins
The fastest-growing brain disease in the world is almost entirely preventable. So why are cases of Parkinson’s Disease skyrocketing? In THE PARKINSON’S PLAN, leading neurologists Dr. Ray Dorsey and Dr. Michael Okun explore how chemicals — including those banned in dozens of countries but still used widely the in U.S. — are fueling a hidden Parkinson’s epidemic. Dr. Ray Dorsey is Director of The Center for the Brain and Environment at Atria Health and Research Institute in NYC, and Dr. Michael Okun is Director of the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at The University of Florida Health.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Get Connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thanks for listening to Get Connected. Perhaps you weren't aware
the fastest growing brain disease in the world is almost
entirely preventable, So why are cases of Parkinson's disease skyrocketing?
In the Parkinson's plan, Leading neurologists doctor Ray Dorsey and
doctor Michael Oakan explore how chemicals, including those banned in
dozens of countries but still used widely in the States,
(00:35):
are fueling a hidden Parkinson's epidemic. Our guests are doctor
Ray Dorsey and doctor Michael Oakin. Thank you for being
on the show.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Thank you for sharing us.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Doctor Ray Dorsey is director of the Center for the
Brain and Environment ATRIA Health and Research Institute in New
York City, and doctor Michael Oakin is director of the
Norman Fixedel Institute for Neurological Diseases at the University of
Florida Health. Just to kind of set a baseline for
what we're talking about, what is Parkinson's disease and what
is going on with the body and brain?
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah, So Parkinson's disease, it is a considered a brain disorder,
but one of the things, Nina, that you may find
interesting is it isn't just the brain. So we think
about it in very simple terms as these cells that
are dying that have this chemical called dopamine that we've
all heard of that helps us with movement, it helps
(01:27):
us with emotion and mood and learning, so really important chemical.
And then as that chemical goes down or it becomes deficient,
you develop symptoms of Parkinson's. But actually there are other
circuits in the brain that are affected, and we're now
finding evidence of parkinson in the skin and other organs,
in the gastrointestinal tracks, so in your gut, and so
(01:47):
we're learning that parkinson is a whole body disease, not
just a brain disease. And the symptoms that people need
to be aware of are things like tremor, stiffness and
slowness and kind of a shuffling, you know, gate meaning
you're walking, you're taking little short steps. But some of
the most disabling features are what we call non motor features,
(02:08):
so things like depression, anxiety, apathy.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Parkinson's can run in families. But what is the balance
between hereditary and environmental factors raising someone's risk.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
There was a great study done by the Parkinson's Foundation
called PD Generation and they sought to answer exactly this question,
and so they offered free genetic counseling and genetic testing
to thousands of individuals with Parkins disease in the US.
And after the first eight thousand individuals, they found that
twelve and a half percent of Americans with parkinson disease
carry a genetic cause or genetic risk craft for the disease.
(02:42):
Said another way, eighty seven percent of Americans, the vast
majority of Americans with Parkinson disease do not carry any
known genetic cause or genetic risk fact for the disease.
For these individuals and even for some with genetic cause,
that answered the life not within us, but outside of us.
Chemicals in our environment are fueling the rise of this disease.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
It is a very scary thought when you put it
that way. New research shows ninety thousand Americans are diagnosed
each year with Parkinson's, fifty percent more than originally thought.
And let's talk about some of the chemical causes. We'll
start with parquat, which is commonly used as an herbicide
in the US. You have a map in the book.
It's pretty much everywhere. It's a weed killer. It's in orchards, roadsides,
(03:26):
animal crops. How is it connected to Parkinson's?
Speaker 4 (03:29):
So, paraquat is a commonly used weed killer sprayed throughout
the United States on corn, soybeans, vineyards, and cotton fields.
It's so toxic it's been used to commit homicide and suicide.
Research shows that in humans, farmers who use the chemical
have one hundred and fifty percent increased risk of developing
Parkinson disease. People who simply live or work near where
(03:52):
it's sprayed have a doubling of the risk of Parkinson disease.
In the laboratory, paracot reproduces the features of parkins Z's,
including tremor and laboratory animals. Over fifty countries, including China,
have banned the chemical, but the United States has not.
In fact, you use a paraquat in the United States
for the last five years for which data are available
(04:13):
has doubled. So over fifty countries have banned this chemical,
but we continue to spray it, including on fields in
New York City, including in vineyards that been to vineyards
in upstate New York that are still using paraquat and
the farmers largely don't even know about the risks.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
So I went to the CDC website before our conversation.
There's no mention of Parkinson's at all. It is used
very widely. It's under a bunch of different brand names.
Perhaps you're talking about in the book you mentioned. Hebron,
New York, there were eleven farmers in a town of
eighteen hundred who were diagnosed with Parkinson's. As of twenty
twenty four, countless farmers have sued the manufacturers. What has
(04:49):
been the result of that and the farming industry's awareness,
How have they changed practices where they are aware it's.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
Still been used as being used in increasing amounts. We
stand alone in this. China, as I mentioned, has banned it.
England bans its use but exports it to Brazil, Mexico,
and the United States. There's no reason for this. The
EPA's own website says, one sip can kill, and the
(05:18):
failure to do this is just letting the seeds of
future cases of Parkinson's disease to be planted every day
in New York and across the country.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
If you watch cable. You've undoubtedly seen ads for the
Camp La June lawsuits. Let's talk about water contamination there.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
So Camplajee's a marine base in North Carolina, and the
water supply for CAMPLA June from nineteen fifty three nineteen
eighty seven was contaminated with a very simple molecule called trichloroethylene.
Your listeners know that water is made up of three
atoms H two O. Trichlorestlinge is made up of a
wopping six atoms, and it's widely used to decrease tanks,
(05:56):
for example, and it's widely used to dry clean clothes.
So marine officers on the base need to get their
uniforms dry clean, and so they went to dry cleaners
that inappropriately disposed of their dry cleaning chemical, which contaminate
the water. Our colleagues, doctor Caroline Tanner and Sam Goldman
at University California and San Francisco studied these marines and
(06:18):
found that marines who on average were twenty years old,
generally healthy, and only at the base for two years
thirty three years later had a seventy percent increased risk
of developing Parkinson disease. Marines who served at a contaminated
base when they were young men, thirty three years later
have a seventy percent increased risk of developing Parkinson disease.
(06:38):
The same researchers had previously shown in a twin study
that the risk of Parkinson disease among people who have
used that chemical and hobby or work is five hundred
percent increased, and research done by doctor Brimma de Miranda
and others have shown that in the laboratory that chemical
reproduces the features of Parkinson disease.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
TCE and PCE. You talk about it extensively in the loo.
They're used in dry cleaning, as you mentioned. Do they
contaminate the air or water or both?
Speaker 4 (07:05):
They contaminate both, So up to thirty percent of ground
where the United States has been contamining with trichloroethylene and
then like radon, which many of your listeners know, can
evaporate from contaminated soil and enter people's homes and workplaces
and cause lung cancer, TCE can evaporate from dry cleaning
sites and contaminated sites and cause cancer and likely Parkinson disease.
(07:28):
I'll give you two New York examples. Many New York
City high rises have apartment buildings have dry cleaners on
the ground floor, and research done by the New York
Department Environmental Conservation found, i think in twenty four of
twenty seven apartments above a dry cleaner, they found toxic
levels of that dry cleaning chemical in the indoor air
(07:49):
of the apartments. Even more concerning because the chemical dissolves.
In fact, when they opened the refrigerator in those apartments,
they found the chemical in the in the butter and
the cheese in the refrigerator. And still today, sixty percent
of dry cleaners in the United States and probably in
New York City, are still using this chemical. So if
(08:10):
you're listening, use a green dry clean that does not
use per chlorothylene or perk. Second example is guanas Canal
in Brooklyn, which is also contaminated with trichloroethylene, and there
are homes up up to half million people in guanas
Canal are potentially affected by a contaminated site there in
guanas Canal in Brooklyn, and there are homes and workplaces
(08:33):
that have high levels elevated unsafe levels of trichloroethylene or
perchlorethylene in their indoor air, and people are breathing in
this chemical, you know, on a daily basis.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
At the end of the book, you present a number
of actions to lower our risk of the disease or
slow progression. We'll talk about those in a moment. Let
me remind everyone who we're speaking with. We're speaking with
neurologists doctor Ray Dorsey and doctor Michael Oakan, co authors
of the book The Parkinson Plan, A New Path to
Prevention and Treatment. They're also the co authors of Ending
Parkinson's Disease. You're listening to get connected on one oh
(09:08):
six point seven light FM. I'm Nina del Rio. In
the list of the actions you present, you talk about
water purifiers, air purifiers. I happen to live in a
town where we have water purifiers because of dry cleaners
and all that kind of stuff. What are we looking
for when it comes to the air purifiers and water purefiers?
What actually removes PCE and TCE or prevents it from
(09:30):
getting into the drinking water.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
So there are simple water purefires carbon filters that you
can buy in your grocery store, some going to the
name brain names pure BREDA. We're not endorsing any and
they can help remove some of these chemicals, and then
air purefires can also help reduce exposure. Now, if you're
living in an apartment above a dry cleaner, or you're
living in Guan's canal, these air purifiers may not be enough,
(09:56):
and you may want to have your indoor air tested,
But if you want to reduce your exposure to like
particular matter ambient outdoor air pollution, these air purifiers are
a good step. I keep one in my living room
at home, in one in our bedroom.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Before we talk about other ways to lessen our exposure.
Not every person who's exposed to Parkinson's causing chemicals will
develop the disease, So what do we know about people
who are more likely to be diagnosed?
Speaker 4 (10:23):
So only ten percent of smokers develop lung cancer, so
we know there have to be other risk factors that
explain why some people get the disease and why some don't.
In the book, we highlight three things exposure, interactions and modifiers. Exposure,
what's your dose of exposure, duration of exposure rout of exposure?
I think inhalation might be more the most disabling or
(10:46):
most concerning. And when were you exposed? And it turns
out that people expose as young children potentially even when
they're in utero. The seeds of the disease could be
planted that early and might be more dangerous. Then we
look at the interactions where the interactions with the genes.
So we know about twelve and a half percent of
Americans carry a genetic risk factor, and turns out some
(11:07):
of those genes, including a genetic risk factor called GBA,
have harmful interactions with pesticides, making individuals who are exposed
to that genetic call genetic risk factor GBA, which is
actually quite common among Ashkenazi Jewish populations in New York
be especially susceptible to the toxic effects of pesticides. And
then there's interactions with the environment like head trauma. And
(11:28):
then sometimes there's chance or bad luck, and then we
can look at modifiers age and other diseases.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Since you mentioned childhood, what should you be aware of
at your child's school?
Speaker 4 (11:39):
There are a few things you should be concerned about. One,
we spray pesticides on kids' schools and playgrounds. In the book,
we highlight that needs to stop. I think we can
all agree that kids, playgrounds and schools can do without pesticides.
There are better ways to do this. Than spraying nerve
toxins that could be contributing to part and disease could
(11:59):
be construed intellectual disabilities can be contributed to autism, could
be contributing to cancer. Second, you want to make sure
your school children's school is not near one of these
contaminated sites. It's not in Brooklyn near Guana's Canal. There
are dozens of contaminated TCE contaminated sites in Long Island.
For example, there was a major aerospace facility that news
(12:21):
Day reported on that has a two by four mile
plume underground plume river of trichlor ethylene. You want to
make sure your children are not going to school there.
And then if you live in more rural areas, you
want to make sure your children's school is not near
farms where pesticides are sprayed. As I mentioned earlier, simply
(12:41):
living or working near where paraquad is sprayed is associated
with a doubling of your risk at parkins and disease.
And then one more for New York City is avoiding
you know, schools near highways maybe increase exposure to particulate
matter little pieces of dirt and soot that are in
the air. This particular matter is increasingly associated with Parkins's
(13:04):
and even much more associated with dementia in Alzheimer's disease.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
We just have a couple of minutes left. I think
the good news is that Parkinson's is a treatable disease.
To what extent is the balance of lifestyle practices such
as diet and exercise with drugs and other therapies. To
what extent can you lessen the symptoms? Can you keep
the symptoms from advancing.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
So one of the myths, Nina, of parkinson disease is
that it's not treatable. And one of the messages that
we want to get give to everyone who's listening is
this is actually quite a treatable disease. We need to
change the way that we're diagnosing it because a lot
of folks when they hear those words you have Parkinson's disease,
they assume it means Alzheimer's disease. It's not Alzheimer's. And
(13:47):
in fact, we have lots of drugs, we have lots
of behavioral therapies, we even have really cool surgical therapies.
And then in our new book, The Parkinson Plan, we
talk about the navigation of new therapies, and so there's short, medium,
and long term, you know therapies, and people should know
gene editing, you know, gene therapy is neuromodulation, you know, medicine.
(14:10):
It's all coming and we're we're pretty excited about where
the future is going. But you should definitely see someone
be identified as somebody with parkinson disease. Twenty five percent
of people live, you know, with stigma. They shouldn't shouldn't
have to live that way. Shouldn't be hiding their diagnosis.
Get somebody who's interested in your care because there's so
much we can do to treat you.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
There's also so much more in the book The Parkinson's
Plan by doctor Ray Dorsey and doctor Michael Oakin. Thank
you for being on to Get Connected.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
This has been Get Connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website. We're
downloads and podcasts at one oh six to seven lightfm
dot com. Thanks for letting sitting
Welcome to Get Connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thanks for listening to Get Connected. Perhaps you weren't aware
the fastest growing brain disease in the world is almost
entirely preventable, So why are cases of Parkinson's disease skyrocketing?
In the Parkinson's plan, Leading neurologists doctor Ray Dorsey and
doctor Michael Oakan explore how chemicals, including those banned in
dozens of countries but still used widely in the States,
(00:35):
are fueling a hidden Parkinson's epidemic. Our guests are doctor
Ray Dorsey and doctor Michael Oakin. Thank you for being
on the show.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Thank you for sharing us.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Doctor Ray Dorsey is director of the Center for the
Brain and Environment ATRIA Health and Research Institute in New
York City, and doctor Michael Oakin is director of the
Norman Fixedel Institute for Neurological Diseases at the University of
Florida Health. Just to kind of set a baseline for
what we're talking about, what is Parkinson's disease and what
is going on with the body and brain?
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah, So Parkinson's disease, it is a considered a brain disorder,
but one of the things, Nina, that you may find
interesting is it isn't just the brain. So we think
about it in very simple terms as these cells that
are dying that have this chemical called dopamine that we've
all heard of that helps us with movement, it helps
(01:27):
us with emotion and mood and learning, so really important chemical.
And then as that chemical goes down or it becomes deficient,
you develop symptoms of Parkinson's. But actually there are other
circuits in the brain that are affected, and we're now
finding evidence of parkinson in the skin and other organs,
in the gastrointestinal tracks, so in your gut, and so
(01:47):
we're learning that parkinson is a whole body disease, not
just a brain disease. And the symptoms that people need
to be aware of are things like tremor, stiffness and
slowness and kind of a shuffling, you know, gate meaning
you're walking, you're taking little short steps. But some of
the most disabling features are what we call non motor features,
(02:08):
so things like depression, anxiety, apathy.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Parkinson's can run in families. But what is the balance
between hereditary and environmental factors raising someone's risk.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
There was a great study done by the Parkinson's Foundation
called PD Generation and they sought to answer exactly this question,
and so they offered free genetic counseling and genetic testing
to thousands of individuals with Parkins disease in the US.
And after the first eight thousand individuals, they found that
twelve and a half percent of Americans with parkinson disease
carry a genetic cause or genetic risk craft for the disease.
(02:42):
Said another way, eighty seven percent of Americans, the vast
majority of Americans with Parkinson disease do not carry any
known genetic cause or genetic risk fact for the disease.
For these individuals and even for some with genetic cause,
that answered the life not within us, but outside of us.
Chemicals in our environment are fueling the rise of this disease.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
It is a very scary thought when you put it
that way. New research shows ninety thousand Americans are diagnosed
each year with Parkinson's, fifty percent more than originally thought.
And let's talk about some of the chemical causes. We'll
start with parquat, which is commonly used as an herbicide
in the US. You have a map in the book.
It's pretty much everywhere. It's a weed killer. It's in orchards, roadsides,
(03:26):
animal crops. How is it connected to Parkinson's?
Speaker 4 (03:29):
So, paraquat is a commonly used weed killer sprayed throughout
the United States on corn, soybeans, vineyards, and cotton fields.
It's so toxic it's been used to commit homicide and suicide.
Research shows that in humans, farmers who use the chemical
have one hundred and fifty percent increased risk of developing
Parkinson disease. People who simply live or work near where
(03:52):
it's sprayed have a doubling of the risk of Parkinson disease.
In the laboratory, paracot reproduces the features of parkins Z's,
including tremor and laboratory animals. Over fifty countries, including China,
have banned the chemical, but the United States has not.
In fact, you use a paraquat in the United States
for the last five years for which data are available
(04:13):
has doubled. So over fifty countries have banned this chemical,
but we continue to spray it, including on fields in
New York City, including in vineyards that been to vineyards
in upstate New York that are still using paraquat and
the farmers largely don't even know about the risks.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
So I went to the CDC website before our conversation.
There's no mention of Parkinson's at all. It is used
very widely. It's under a bunch of different brand names.
Perhaps you're talking about in the book you mentioned. Hebron,
New York, there were eleven farmers in a town of
eighteen hundred who were diagnosed with Parkinson's. As of twenty
twenty four, countless farmers have sued the manufacturers. What has
(04:49):
been the result of that and the farming industry's awareness,
How have they changed practices where they are aware it's.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
Still been used as being used in increasing amounts. We
stand alone in this. China, as I mentioned, has banned it.
England bans its use but exports it to Brazil, Mexico,
and the United States. There's no reason for this. The
EPA's own website says, one sip can kill, and the
(05:18):
failure to do this is just letting the seeds of
future cases of Parkinson's disease to be planted every day
in New York and across the country.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
If you watch cable. You've undoubtedly seen ads for the
Camp La June lawsuits. Let's talk about water contamination there.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
So Camplajee's a marine base in North Carolina, and the
water supply for CAMPLA June from nineteen fifty three nineteen
eighty seven was contaminated with a very simple molecule called trichloroethylene.
Your listeners know that water is made up of three
atoms H two O. Trichlorestlinge is made up of a
wopping six atoms, and it's widely used to decrease tanks,
(05:56):
for example, and it's widely used to dry clean clothes.
So marine officers on the base need to get their
uniforms dry clean, and so they went to dry cleaners
that inappropriately disposed of their dry cleaning chemical, which contaminate
the water. Our colleagues, doctor Caroline Tanner and Sam Goldman
at University California and San Francisco studied these marines and
(06:18):
found that marines who on average were twenty years old,
generally healthy, and only at the base for two years
thirty three years later had a seventy percent increased risk
of developing Parkinson disease. Marines who served at a contaminated
base when they were young men, thirty three years later
have a seventy percent increased risk of developing Parkinson disease.
(06:38):
The same researchers had previously shown in a twin study
that the risk of Parkinson disease among people who have
used that chemical and hobby or work is five hundred
percent increased, and research done by doctor Brimma de Miranda
and others have shown that in the laboratory that chemical
reproduces the features of Parkinson disease.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
TCE and PCE. You talk about it extensively in the loo.
They're used in dry cleaning, as you mentioned. Do they
contaminate the air or water or both?
Speaker 4 (07:05):
They contaminate both, So up to thirty percent of ground
where the United States has been contamining with trichloroethylene and
then like radon, which many of your listeners know, can
evaporate from contaminated soil and enter people's homes and workplaces
and cause lung cancer, TCE can evaporate from dry cleaning
sites and contaminated sites and cause cancer and likely Parkinson disease.
(07:28):
I'll give you two New York examples. Many New York
City high rises have apartment buildings have dry cleaners on
the ground floor, and research done by the New York
Department Environmental Conservation found, i think in twenty four of
twenty seven apartments above a dry cleaner, they found toxic
levels of that dry cleaning chemical in the indoor air
(07:49):
of the apartments. Even more concerning because the chemical dissolves.
In fact, when they opened the refrigerator in those apartments,
they found the chemical in the in the butter and
the cheese in the refrigerator. And still today, sixty percent
of dry cleaners in the United States and probably in
New York City, are still using this chemical. So if
(08:10):
you're listening, use a green dry clean that does not
use per chlorothylene or perk. Second example is guanas Canal
in Brooklyn, which is also contaminated with trichloroethylene, and there
are homes up up to half million people in guanas
Canal are potentially affected by a contaminated site there in
guanas Canal in Brooklyn, and there are homes and workplaces
(08:33):
that have high levels elevated unsafe levels of trichloroethylene or
perchlorethylene in their indoor air, and people are breathing in
this chemical, you know, on a daily basis.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
At the end of the book, you present a number
of actions to lower our risk of the disease or
slow progression. We'll talk about those in a moment. Let
me remind everyone who we're speaking with. We're speaking with
neurologists doctor Ray Dorsey and doctor Michael Oakan, co authors
of the book The Parkinson Plan, A New Path to
Prevention and Treatment. They're also the co authors of Ending
Parkinson's Disease. You're listening to get connected on one oh
(09:08):
six point seven light FM. I'm Nina del Rio. In
the list of the actions you present, you talk about
water purifiers, air purifiers. I happen to live in a
town where we have water purifiers because of dry cleaners
and all that kind of stuff. What are we looking
for when it comes to the air purifiers and water purefiers?
What actually removes PCE and TCE or prevents it from
(09:30):
getting into the drinking water.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
So there are simple water purefires carbon filters that you
can buy in your grocery store, some going to the
name brain names pure BREDA. We're not endorsing any and
they can help remove some of these chemicals, and then
air purefires can also help reduce exposure. Now, if you're
living in an apartment above a dry cleaner, or you're
living in Guan's canal, these air purifiers may not be enough,
(09:56):
and you may want to have your indoor air tested,
But if you want to reduce your exposure to like
particular matter ambient outdoor air pollution, these air purifiers are
a good step. I keep one in my living room
at home, in one in our bedroom.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Before we talk about other ways to lessen our exposure.
Not every person who's exposed to Parkinson's causing chemicals will
develop the disease, So what do we know about people
who are more likely to be diagnosed?
Speaker 4 (10:23):
So only ten percent of smokers develop lung cancer, so
we know there have to be other risk factors that
explain why some people get the disease and why some don't.
In the book, we highlight three things exposure, interactions and modifiers. Exposure,
what's your dose of exposure, duration of exposure rout of exposure?
I think inhalation might be more the most disabling or
(10:46):
most concerning. And when were you exposed? And it turns
out that people expose as young children potentially even when
they're in utero. The seeds of the disease could be
planted that early and might be more dangerous. Then we
look at the interactions where the interactions with the genes.
So we know about twelve and a half percent of
Americans carry a genetic risk factor, and turns out some
(11:07):
of those genes, including a genetic risk factor called GBA,
have harmful interactions with pesticides, making individuals who are exposed
to that genetic call genetic risk factor GBA, which is
actually quite common among Ashkenazi Jewish populations in New York
be especially susceptible to the toxic effects of pesticides. And
then there's interactions with the environment like head trauma. And
(11:28):
then sometimes there's chance or bad luck, and then we
can look at modifiers age and other diseases.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Since you mentioned childhood, what should you be aware of
at your child's school?
Speaker 4 (11:39):
There are a few things you should be concerned about. One,
we spray pesticides on kids' schools and playgrounds. In the book,
we highlight that needs to stop. I think we can
all agree that kids, playgrounds and schools can do without pesticides.
There are better ways to do this. Than spraying nerve
toxins that could be contributing to part and disease could
(11:59):
be construed intellectual disabilities can be contributed to autism, could
be contributing to cancer. Second, you want to make sure
your school children's school is not near one of these
contaminated sites. It's not in Brooklyn near Guana's Canal. There
are dozens of contaminated TCE contaminated sites in Long Island.
For example, there was a major aerospace facility that news
(12:21):
Day reported on that has a two by four mile
plume underground plume river of trichlor ethylene. You want to
make sure your children are not going to school there.
And then if you live in more rural areas, you
want to make sure your children's school is not near
farms where pesticides are sprayed. As I mentioned earlier, simply
(12:41):
living or working near where paraquad is sprayed is associated
with a doubling of your risk at parkins and disease.
And then one more for New York City is avoiding
you know, schools near highways maybe increase exposure to particulate
matter little pieces of dirt and soot that are in
the air. This particular matter is increasingly associated with Parkins's
(13:04):
and even much more associated with dementia in Alzheimer's disease.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
We just have a couple of minutes left. I think
the good news is that Parkinson's is a treatable disease.
To what extent is the balance of lifestyle practices such
as diet and exercise with drugs and other therapies. To
what extent can you lessen the symptoms? Can you keep
the symptoms from advancing.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
So one of the myths, Nina, of parkinson disease is
that it's not treatable. And one of the messages that
we want to get give to everyone who's listening is
this is actually quite a treatable disease. We need to
change the way that we're diagnosing it because a lot
of folks when they hear those words you have Parkinson's disease,
they assume it means Alzheimer's disease. It's not Alzheimer's. And
(13:47):
in fact, we have lots of drugs, we have lots
of behavioral therapies, we even have really cool surgical therapies.
And then in our new book, The Parkinson Plan, we
talk about the navigation of new therapies, and so there's short, medium,
and long term, you know therapies, and people should know
gene editing, you know, gene therapy is neuromodulation, you know, medicine.
(14:10):
It's all coming and we're we're pretty excited about where
the future is going. But you should definitely see someone
be identified as somebody with parkinson disease. Twenty five percent
of people live, you know, with stigma. They shouldn't shouldn't
have to live that way. Shouldn't be hiding their diagnosis.
Get somebody who's interested in your care because there's so
much we can do to treat you.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
There's also so much more in the book The Parkinson's
Plan by doctor Ray Dorsey and doctor Michael Oakin. Thank
you for being on to Get Connected.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
This has been Get Connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website. We're
downloads and podcasts at one oh six to seven lightfm
dot com. Thanks for letting sitting
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