NEW Research Links 3 More Pesticides to Parkinson’s Disease

The AHA! Team — Mon, 06 May 2024 18:41:51 +0000

Patrick Tims via NaturalHealth365 – The call to restrict or ban pesticide use is not mere alarmism; it’s grounded in substantial evidence and urgent necessity. Paraquat – a highly toxic herbicide – has long been linked to Parkinson’s disease. Now, a recent report has shed alarming light on the dire consequences associated with the use of three more pesticides. This latest analysis unequivocally demonstrates that these harmful chemicals, when applied to crops, are directly linked to the onset of Parkinson’s disease – a debilitating neurological disorder that robs individuals of their quality of life and independence. Pesticides used throughout the United States are now in the crosshairs The three pesticides currently under scrutiny are widely utilized in crop cultivation across the United States despite their potential to cause Parkinson’s disease. Despite being relatively unnoticed by many, there has been a concerning surge in the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease, mirroring the upward trend observed in several other neurological conditions. Research indicates that these toxic pesticides pose significant harm to brain neurons. While 14 pesticides have been associated with an elevated risk of Parkinson’s disease, the connection appears most pronounced with three specific pesticides. Parkinson’s disease manifests as the progressive loss of neurons in the brain, leading to debilitating immobility among patients. These neurons play a pivotal role in producing dopamine, a neurotransmitter crucial for transmitting signals throughout the brain. The decline or loss of such signaling capability profoundly compromises an individual’s motor control. Accumulation of the alpha-synuclein peptide within the neurons of Parkinson’s patients exacerbates neuron damage and impedes dopamine production, which is essential for signal transmission. Living in areas of high pesticide use increases risk of Parkinson’s disease Though the idea that chemicals might damage neurons in the brain was floated as early as the 1980s, it hasn’t been proven until recently. The research linked above will be formally presented this April at Denver’s American Academy of Neurology’s 76th annual meeting. Though the study has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, it is only a matter of time until it reaches academic circles and mainstream society. The research, conducted by scholars from Washington University and Amherst College, sheds light on how the risk of Parkinson’s disease is closely tied to the extent of exposure to pesticides. These researchers delved into data concerning 21,549,400 individuals living in the USA and mapped the usage of pesticides across counties from 1992 to 2008. The findings showed that 14 pesticides were associated with a greater risk of Parkinson’s disease in the wide open spaces of America’s Great Plains and the rugged terrain of the Rocky Mountains. In particular, the pesticides atrazine, lindane, and simazine had the strongest link to heightened Parkinson’s risk. Simazine is an herbicide primarily used to control broadleaf weeds and grasses in various crops such as corn, sugarcane, citrus fruits, and ornamental plants. It can also be used to control weeds in non-crop areas such as highways, railways, and industrial sites. Lindane is an organochlorine insecticide – used to control pests in agriculture, forestry, and veterinary medicine. Lindane has also been used to treat lice and scabies infestations in humans and animals and to treat wood and seeds. Atrazine is a widely used herbicide primarily applied to control weeds in crops such as corn, sugarcane, sorghum, and other crops. It is also used in non-agricultural settings such as golf courses and residential lawns for weed control. The results of the study are deeply concerning: Those in areas with the highest atrazine use were 31% more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s Those in areas with the highest lindane use were 25% more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s Those in areas with the highest simazine use were 36% more likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s Though these three pesticides have been restricted in other countries, they are allowed in the United States. Strategies to reduce your exposure to toxic pesticides It’s crucial for every American to recognize that Parkinson’s disease has doubled in prevalence over the past 25 years. This condition is now the fastest-growing brain disorder worldwide, but you have the power to prevent yourself from becoming a statistic. Avoid fruits and vegetables that have been treated with pesticides. Instead of patronizing Big Box stores and corporate supermarkets that stock produce grown with pesticides, opt to shop locally at farmers’ markets, locally owned stores, and roadside stands that sell organic produce. Simply put, our food choices have the power to make this world less toxic and better for all of us. Sources for this article include: Aanfiles.bob.core.windows.net Medicalnewstoday.com Medpagetoday.com To read the original article click here.

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Social Media Platforms Amplify People’s Expressions of Moral Outrage Over Time

AHA Publisher — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 07:00:10 +0000

Yale University via News Medical – Social media platforms like Twitter amplify expressions of moral outrage over time because users who learn such language gets rewarded with an increased number of “likes” and “shares,” a new Yale University study shows. And these rewards had the greatest influence on users connected with politically moderate networks. “Social media’s incentives are changing the tone of our political conversations online,” said Yale’s William Brady, a postdoctoral researcher in the Yale Department of Psychology and first author of the study. He led the research with Molly Crockett, an associate professor of psychology at Yale. The Yale team measured the expression of moral outrage on Twitter during real-life controversial events and studied the behaviors of subjects in controlled experiments designed to test whether social media’s algorithms, which reward users for posting popular content, encourage outrage expressions. “This is the first evidence that some people learn to express more outrage over time because they are rewarded by the basic design of social media,” Brady said. The study was published on Aug. 13 in the journal Science Advances. Moral outrage can be a strong force for societal good, motivating punishment for moral transgressions, promoting social cooperation, and spurring social change. It also has a dark side, contributing to the harassment of minority groups, the spread of disinformation, and political polarization, researchers said. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter argue that they merely provide a neutral platform for conversations that would otherwise happen elsewhere. But many have speculated that social media amplifies outrage. Hard evidence for this claim was missing, however, because measuring complex social expressions like moral outrage with precision poses a technical challenge, the researchers said. To compile that evidence, Brady and Crockett assembled a team that built machine learning software capable of tracking moral outrage in Twitter posts. In observational studies of 12.7 million tweets from 7,331 Twitter users, they used the software to test whether users expressed more outrage over time, and if so, why. The team found that the incentives of social media platforms like Twitter really do change how people post. Users who received more “likes” and “retweets” when they expressed outrage in a tweet were more likely to express outrage in later posts. To back up these findings, the researchers conducted controlled behavioral experiments to demonstrate that being rewarded for expressing outrage caused users to increase their expression of outrage over time. The results also suggest a troubling link to current debates on social media’s role in political polarization. Brady and his colleagues found that members of politically extreme networks expressed more outrage than members of politically moderate networks. However, members of politically moderate networks were actually more influenced by social rewards. “Our studies find that people with politically moderate friends and followers are more sensitive to social feedback that reinforces their outrage expressions,” Crockett said. “This suggests a mechanism for how moderate groups can become politically radicalized over time -; the rewards of social media create positive feedback loops that exacerbate outrage.” The study did not aim to say whether amplifying moral outrage is good or bad for society, Crockett stressed. But the findings do have implications for leaders who use the platforms and policymakers who are considering whether to regulate them. “Amplification of moral outrage is a clear consequence of social media’s business model, which optimizes for user engagement. Given that moral outrage plays a crucial role in social and political change, we should be aware that tech companies, through the design of their platforms, have the ability to influence the success or failure of collective movements.” Molly Crockett, Associate Professor, Psychology, Yale University She added, “Our data show that social media platforms do not merely reflect what is happening in society. Platforms create incentives that change how users react to political events over time.” To read the original article click here.

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NEW Research Links 3 More Pesticides to Parkinson’s Disease

Social Media Platforms Amplify People’s Expressions of Moral Outrage Over Time