Early environmental exposure may accelerate age-related neurodegeneration

BIOBOSS submitted, created time 1 year 6 months (www.eurekalert.org)

Exposure to iron during the first weeks of life in combination with exposure later in life to a common herbicide may contribute to the subsequent degeneration of brain cells associated with the onset of Parkinson's disease (PD), according to a new study in mice. The findings also showed that a compound that protects cells in the body from damage from certain forms of oxygen, a kind of antioxidant, could suppress such neural degeneration.

Keywords: environmental exposure neurodegeneration age-related neurodegeneration Parkinsons disease