Over the past decade, a number of studies have suggested that pesticide exposure may double a person's risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Now, for the first time, a family study has been published that reinforces that link.
In the March 28 edition of the journal BMC Neurology, researchers from Duke University Medical Center and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine reported that people with Parkinson's disease were 61 percent more likely to report direct contact with pesticides-particularly insecticides and herbicides-than their unaffected relatives.
Summary
Background
Cadmium is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant, which accumulates in the human body such that 24-h urinary excretion is a biomarker of lifetime exposure. We aimed to assess the association between environmental exposure to cadmium and cancer.
Methods
We recruited a random population sample (n=994) from an area close to three zinc smelters and a reference population from an area with low exposure to cadmium.
Introduction: Risk prediction of gastric cancers is important to implement appropriate screening procedures. Although aberrant DNA methylation is deeply involved in gastric carcinogenesis, its induction by Helicobacter pylori, a strong gastric carcinogen, is unclear. Here, we analyzed the effect of H. pylori infection on the quantity of methylated DNA molecules in noncancerous gastric mucosae and examined its association with gastric cancer risk.
Accumulating evidence suggests that intestinal microbial organisms may play an important role in triggering and sustaining inflammation in individuals afflicted with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Moreover, individuals with IBD are at increased risk for developing colorectal cancer, suggesting that chronic inflammation may initiate genetic or epigenetic changes associated with cancer development. We tested the hypothesis that bacteria may contribute to the development of colon cancer by synergizing with defective transforming growth factor-ß
Background — Atherogenesis involves inflammatory processes in which infections are incriminated as possible contributors.
Methods and Results — We evaluated cardiovascular risk factors as well as seropositivity to Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, and cytomegalovirus in a population-based study. A significant association between prevalence and severity of atherosclerosis in carotid and femoral arteries and IgA antibodies to C pneumoniae was demonstrated that was not substantially altered after adjustment for established risk factors.
Background: CagA-positive Helicobacter pylori infection has been found to be associated with a first-ever atherosclerotic stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate whether these strains represent an independent risk factor for recurrent atherosclerotic stroke.
Materials and Methods: We performed a longitudinal study of patients with a first-ever large vessels stroke and resulted positive at H.
Background
Cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA)–positive strains of Helicobacter pylori are an etiological factor for peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. Studies on the role of these virulent strains in vascular diseases yield conflicting results.
Methods
We searched the MEDLINE database for relevant studies. Meta-analysis was performed using the random effects method.
