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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

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Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: The perplexing paradox of paraquat: the case for host-based susceptibility and postulated neurodegenerative effects.

Authors: Jones, Byron C; Huang, Xuemei; Mailman, Richard B; Lu, Lu; Williams, Robert W

Published In J Biochem Mol Toxicol, (2014 May)

Abstract: Paraquat is an herbicide used extensively in agriculture and has also been proposed to be a risk factor for Parkinson's disease. To date, experimental, clinical, and epidemiological data on paraquat neurotoxicity have been equivocal. In this short review, we discuss some technical and biological mechanisms that contribute to inconsistencies regarding paraquat neurotoxicity. We hypothesize that individual genetic variations in susceptibility generate major differences in neurotoxic risk and functional outcome. Identifying these heritable sources of variation in host susceptibility, and their role in complex gene-environment interactions, is crucial to identify risk biomarkers and to devise better prevention and treatment for those exposed to paraquat and other potential neurotoxicants.

PubMed ID: 24599642 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Environmental Pollutants/toxicity*; Gene-Environment Interaction*; Genetic Predisposition to Disease*; Herbicides/toxicity*; Humans; Neurotoxicity Syndromes/etiology*; Neurotoxicity Syndromes/genetics; Paraquat/toxicity*

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