In a published interview, Ray Dorsey, MD is quoted saying, “We can create a world for future generations where Parkinson’s disease is once again rare.” He sees it as a gift from us to them. He reiterated those words in the livestream Proactive Brain Health: Evaluating Environmental & Chemical Exposure – part of the Proactive Brain Health Series.
Coauthors of Ending Parkinson’s Disease: A Prescription for Action, Ray Dorsey, MD, Michael Okun, MD and Bastiaan Bloem, MD, PhD are passionate about the environment’s role in Parkinson’s disease and the need for change. I attended their session at the World Parkinson’s Congress, and I was excited for another chance to learn more about environmental risks from Dr. Dorsey.
So, how was it?
Concerning. Scary. Empowering.
As a participant, it had a profound impact on me, and I am not alone. The post-webinar poll results indicated that 86% of participants learned more about the topic, and 96% indicated they would be making an environmental or lifestyle change.
If someone asked me to describe the webinar in one word, my answer would be, “Wow.” It was an eye-opening hour of education and candid Q&A. Participants posed questions through the chat as Dr. Dorsey gave his presentation and a sneak peek at the newest publication, The Parkinson’s Plan: A New Path to Prevention and Treatment, which aligns with the next step in the call to action to end Parkinson’s Disease and features “The Parkinson’s 25.”
Highlights behind the wow-factor:
1. The principal causes of Parkinson’s aren’t genetic. Only about 15% of people have any identifiable genetic risk factor, and 85% do not.
2. Parkinson’s is growing faster than the aging curve, making it one of the fastest-growing neurological diseases.
3. Areas of the world that are most industrialized, like Canada and the United States, have five times higher rates of Parkinson’s disease than areas of the world like those that are less industrialized, such as countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
4. We should be concerned about three classes of chemicals: herbicides and pesticides, cleaners, and air pollution. These chemicals are everywhere: in the food we eat, at dry cleaners, and in the air we breathe. Dr. Dorsey highlighted the pesticide Paraquat, the cleaner trichloroethylene (TCE), and air pollution.
5. The EPA defines Superfund sites as “polluted locations in the United States requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous contaminants. Sites include landfills, mines, manufacturing facilities, and processing plants, where toxic waste has either been improperly managed or dumped.” Here is a list of locations.
6. Research funding needs to be allocated to the prevention of all diseases, as well as treating symptoms and finding cures.
I finished the webinar with the impression that this is a must-see for EVERYONE – Parkinson’s or not. I will be preordering my copy of The Parkinson’s Plan: A New Path to Treatment and Prevention to learn more about reducing my risk of exposure to these chemicals, but until then, this presentation is a huge eye-opener! I highly recommend you watch the recording here.
To quote Dr. Dorsey: “…I’d love nothing more than for our generation to be the last generation that deals with Parkinson’s disease, and that future generations only read about Parkinson’s disease in medical textbooks or history books just like we do, largely with polio and typhus and many other diseases.”
Let’s get informed, and let’s end it.
