The Effects Of Pesticides On The Brain

The effects of pesticides on the brain can be quite severe, especially when the individual is exposed to them for a long time. Every year, the chemical industry withdraws hundreds of products from the market because they realized they had a high toxin content.

Pesticides are heterogeneous chemical compounds. They are used to kill insects, weeds, fungi and rodents. Although they increase agricultural productivity, their potential side effects can harm our health.

Today we are all exposed to a number of chemical products. However, said chemical products have not undergone sufficient laboratory tests to completely rule out their toxic effects. Pesticides in themselves do not harm our health. Instead, the mixture of several components is what causes devastating long-term consequences.

On the other hand, pesticides can also affect children’s brains. Exposure to polluting chemicals can affect brain development. In fact, this can happen even during pregnancy. If this exposure is prolonged, other areas may also be affected. In fact, these drugs may play a major role in the manifestation of disorders such as autism and ADHD.

The first studies on the effect of pesticides on the brain

In 1962, biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson published her first book, Silent Spring . Many consider this book to be the main promoter of modern environmental awareness. This book was the first to warn of harmful effects of pesticides on the environment. Silent Spring alerted so many people that the United States was forced to ban the use of the increasingly popular insecticide DDT.

During the 70s and 80s, several studies were conducted on the effect of pesticides on the brain. Consequently, various groups of researchers showed that prolonged exposure to organic pesticides with organochloride produced changes in the central nervous system (CNS). In fact, most studies clearly showed learning and memory deficits, as well as motor and behavioral changes.

Consequences of prolonged exposure to pesticides

Pesticides can be toxic to both humans and animals. Some toxins are so strong that they are lethal in very small amounts. Now there are less aggressive toxins that do not cause immediate damage. But the fact that they can cause long-term damage makes them just as dangerous as the others.

The toxins in pesticides can remain in the body for a long time. The organism can react to them in different ways. This depends on a few factors such as exposure time, type of pesticide and the individual’s chemical resistance.

The effects of pesticides on the brain and Alzheimer’s

The journal JAMA Neurology published a study on how the environment affected Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers concluded that being exposed to a pesticide such as DDT increases the likelihood of suffering from this disease.

This type of pesticide was used until the mid 70’s in the USA and until 2008 in Spain. The reason it remained legal in Spain was that it was an instrumental ingredient in the manufacture of dicofol, a type of pesticide.

Researchers conducted a study that aimed to relate pesticides to Alzheimer’s disease. To get it out, they studied two different groups of patients suffering from this neurodegenerative disease. They were able to draw an interesting conclusion. Alzheimer’s patients who had high levels of pesticides in their blood had developed a more severe cognitive impairment compared with the patients in the control group. The other group of patients developed this disease but had no pesticides in their blood.

These data on the effects of pesticides on the brain are impressive. However, this association can explain only a few cases of Alzheimer’s. In any case, this study is striking because it clearly shows that there is a link between pesticides and this neurodegenerative disease.

Pesticides and autism

We cannot overlook the fact that autism has an important genetic component. However, the environment also plays a major role. One of the risk factors that increases the likelihood of developing autism is the exposure to pesticides during pregnancy. For example, in a study from the University of California, researchers were able to relate to the exposure of pesticides and other compounds during pregnancy to the advancement of this condition.

In addition, they concluded that exposure to pesticides may alter the methylation of DNA from the placenta. This may alter the function of this organ and alter fetal development. Thus, it can lead to an increased risk of autism.

Pesticides and Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder caused by the destruction of the neurons in the central nervous system. The nerves in the central nervous system use dopamine as the primary neurotransmitter as it is responsible for transmitting the necessary information for body movements. For now, the cause is still unknown.

A group of researchers led by Dr. Francisco Pan-Montojo confirmed that one of the effects of pesticides on the brain is that they increase the chances of suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Various epidemiological studies confirm that there are several toxic substances that can produce the symptoms of this disorder.

As you can see, the effects of pesticides on the brain can be quite severe. Their use is highly controversial and is likely to continue to be controversial as researchers delve deeper into their effects on human health. It is true that modern agriculture as we know it would not exist without pesticides. But are they more important than the health of thousands of people? It is very likely that we will encounter new health problems related to the use of pesticides in the coming decades.