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- Relationship to Diabetes
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Indu Subramanian, MD: My name is Indu Subramanian, and I'm at UCLA in Los Angeles. It's my pleasure to have Ray Dorsey on our program today. Ray is a professor of neurology at the University of Rochester and has been doing some amazing advocacy work in largely the space of trying to end Parkinson's disease.
E. Ray Dorsey, MD: Thanks very much for having me, Indu. I'm delighted to be with you.
Dorsey: Like most people, I didn't know what TCE was until about 5 or 6 years ago. TCE is a very simple molecule. It's got six atoms, including two carbon atoms, one hydrogen atom, and three chlorine atoms — hence, its name "trichloroethylene." There's a very similar chemical called perchloroethylene, which is widely used in dry cleaning. It's got one additional chlorine atom, and the prefix "per-" means "four." I'll talk about TCE predominantly, but both of these chemicals probably have similar toxicity with respect to Parkinson's disease.
Research done by Drs Carlie Tanner and Sam Goldman about a decade ago showed that in twins who were exposed to this through their work (it's widely used as a degreasing agent) or hobbies (it's used in printing and painting, by varnish workers, or by anyone that needs it as a solvent) had a 500% increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Importantly, in that study, they showed that there was a lag time of 10-40 years between exposure to that chemical and the diagnosis of the disease. Because TCE was so widely used, they said that public health implications could be substantial.
E. Ray Dorsey, MD: Thanks very much for having me, Indu. I'm delighted to be with you.
Trichloroethylene and PD
Subramanian: I wanted to first highlight some of the work that has come out and gotten a large amount of media attention around Camp Lejeune and specifically trichloroethylene (TCE) as a cause of Parkinson's, and one of the environmental toxins that we talk about as something that is in pretty much everywhere. This paper came out, and you wrote a commentary in JAMA Neurology as well. Perhaps we can summarize the paper and its findings.Dorsey: Like most people, I didn't know what TCE was until about 5 or 6 years ago. TCE is a very simple molecule. It's got six atoms, including two carbon atoms, one hydrogen atom, and three chlorine atoms — hence, its name "trichloroethylene." There's a very similar chemical called perchloroethylene, which is widely used in dry cleaning. It's got one additional chlorine atom, and the prefix "per-" means "four." I'll talk about TCE predominantly, but both of these chemicals probably have similar toxicity with respect to Parkinson's disease.
Research done by Drs Carlie Tanner and Sam Goldman about a decade ago showed that in twins who were exposed to this through their work (it's widely used as a degreasing agent) or hobbies (it's used in printing and painting, by varnish workers, or by anyone that needs it as a solvent) had a 500% increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Importantly, in that study, they showed that there was a lag time of 10-40 years between exposure to that chemical and the diagnosis of the disease. Because TCE was so widely used, they said that public health implications could be substantial.
Is Most Parkinson's Disease Man-Made?
Indu Subramanian interviews Ray Dorsey about the link between environmental toxins and Parkinson's disease and his advocacy work to end this disease.
www.medscape.com