Raising Awareness with the Indian Neurology Community on the Global ‘Paraquat’ and ‘Parkinson’s disease’ conundrum
Abstract
Paraquat is one of the extensively used herbicides in Indian agriculture.Its use is linked to acute toxicity and a range of associated risks, including the absence of a specific antidote for managing accidental exposure, its potential for abuse, long-term sequelae, and its documented association with neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease. While the exact mechanisms remain unclear, paraquat can cross the blood-brain barrier, and contributeto the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, a key feature in the progression of Parkinson’s disease.Several studies have demonstrated an epidemiological association between paraquat and Parkinson’s disease (PD) with researchers divided on the strength of this link. The active involvement of the Indian neuroscience community is needed to investigate the role of paraquat in causing Parkinson’s disease as a huge population of our country is being exposed to this herbicide. It is essential to generate clinical data on paraquat exposure and its potential neurological impacts, and conduct neurological assessments on such cases toassess its acute and chronic neurotoxic manifestations.
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