Quote Originally Posted by DocTheo View Post
It's important to note that the study cited by this article refers specifically to the risk for exposure to agrochemicals including permethrin to individuals with the SNCA-A53T mutation, one of 6 specific genetic mutations linked to Parkinsonian syndromes, and found in less than 5-7 percent of those individuals suffering from Parkinson's disease. Specifically, those with mutation seems to be sensitive to the way that the agrochemicals react with proteins in nanotubules in dopamine-specific nerve fibers, causing increases in alpha-synuclein mediated neurofibril tangles. However, the majority of people do not seem to be at greater risk for this, and individuals with the mutation have increased risk factors in general for Parkinson's, not only from environmental exposures including permethrin, but overall.

In other words, if you have the mutation, your risk is increased. Exposure to permethrin increases it further. If you do not have the mutation, exposure to permethrin does not appear to increase your risk of Parkinson's.

And if you have Parkinson's, it may have nothing to do with exposure to permethrin.

None of which takes anything away from my sympathy for your diagnosis, Oldgringo - best to you, and I hope that you and your medical team find the ideal pathway forward for you. There's a lot of promising research going on on the PD frontier. I'm not into a lot of it, as I'm more Pediatric-focused, but I get bits of information from the fringes. All my best to you.
I agree with this analysis. Anyone with Parkinson’s does face a difficult disorder and I can appreciate that OP may want to help others avoid this, because it is such a challenge for him and his family. However, since this condition has been known since ancient times, connecting it to a potentially helpful agent only used in the last 50 years like permethrin (preventing lymes) is fraught with difficulty, particularly if we try to extrapolate from a small study of mice data. Certainly we should all seek to reduce exposure to pesticides, but I don’t want to get tick related illness that can be reduced by permethrin, based on a small mouse study.