Parkinson’s Disease and the Environment: Causes & Prevention

Sam Goldman, MD, MPH, physician researcher at UCSF who has spent decades studying environment risk factors for Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Goldman will discuss the association between various industrial chemicals and pesticides and Parkinson’s, with a focus on the industrial solvent trichloroethylene (TCE). TCE is used in common household products, such as cleaning wipes and paint removers, and commercial dry cleaners. Dr. Goldman will highlight the recently published results of the Camp Lejeune study which showed that Camp Lejeune veterans who were exposed to drinking water contaminated with TCE and other chemicals had a 70% higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than Camp Pendleton veterans who were not exposed to contaminated water.