Occupational exposures and parkinsonism

In recent years, the contribution of exposure to environmental toxicants has been recognized as a significant contributor to the etiopathogenesis of parkinsonism. Of these toxicants, exposure to pesticides, metals, solvents used in manufacturing processes, as well as flame-retardant chemicals used in consumer and commercial products, has received the greatest attention as possible risk factors. Related to this, individuals who are exposed to these compounds at high concentrations or for prolonged periods of time in an occupational setting appear to be one of the more vulnerable populations to these effects. Our understanding of which compounds are involved and the potential molecular pathways that are susceptible to these chemicals and may underlie the pathogenesis has greatly improved. However, there are still hundreds of chemicals that we are exposed to in the environment for which we do not have any information on their potential neurotoxicity on the nigrostriatal dopamine system. Thus, using our past accomplishments as a blueprint, future endeavors should focus on elaborating upon these initial findings in order to identify specific and relevant chemical toxicants in our environment that can impact the risk of parkinsonism and work towards a means to attenuate or abolish their effects on the human population.