"Metal Pollution Tied To Parkinson's Disease"

"People living near a steel factory or another source of high manganese emissions are at higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease, suggests a new study.

As many as one million Americans live with the degenerative disease, according to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. Pesticides from farms have long been suspected of upping the chances of developing Parkinson's, but much less is known about the influences of city living.

"Environmental risk factors for Parkinson's disease have been relatively under-studied, especially in urban areas where the overwhelming majority of Parkinson's disease patients reside," Dr. Brad A. Racette of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, told Reuters Health in an e-mail."

Lynne Peeples reports for Reuters October 27, 2010.