WEDNESDAY, April 2 (HealthScoutNews) -- Consuming lots of fruits and
fruit juices appears to increase the risk of Parkinson's disease, a
new study suggests.

But people shouldn't cut back on their consumption of fruit, the
researchers add.

The culprit may be pesticides, plant-borne toxins or herbicides, not
the fruit itself, says researcher Andrew Grandinetti, an
epidemiologist at the Pacific Biomedical Research Center at the
University of Hawaii at Manoa.

He will present the findings April 3 at the American Academy of
Neurology's annual meeting in Honolulu.


"I really want to stress that fruit intake is a very important part of
health in general," says Grandinetti, who adds that fruit consumption
has been linked with cancer prevention. "I suspect [the increased
risk] might be a marker of pesticide exposure."

There was no increased risk, he notes, for those with a high Vitamin C
intake from diet and supplements.
Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the central nervous
system,that produces symptoms such as body tremors, slowness of
movement, stiffness of limbs and balance problems.


About 2 percent of the population will develop Parkinson's in their
lifetime, according to Mayo Clinic estimates. Parkinson's results
from a progressive degeneration of the brain, with a loss of neurons
that produce dopamine.


Medication to restore dopamine levels is commonly given, but as the
disease progresses, the disabilities accumulate, experts say.


Grandinetti's team evaluated more than 8,000 study subjects from 1965
on, noting the incidence of Parkinson's disease over 34 years of
observation and taking into account dietary habits. Increased fruit
and fruit juice intake boosted the risk of getting the disease.


The increased risk varied, depending on the measurement used.


The team used two measurements, a 24-hour diet recall and a food
frequency questionnaire, to determine fruit and fruit juice
consumption. If subjects reported more than three servings a day on
the 24-hour recall measure, theyhad a 70 percent increased risk of
Parkinson's after adjusting for other variables such as bowel
movement frequency (the more regular, the less risk).

On the food frequency questionnaire, if they had one or more servings
of fruit a day, the risk of Parkinson's increased by 55 percent after
other variables were taken into account.

The study began looking at data in 1965, Grandinetti notes,
when "pesticides were more persistent than the ones currently used."

Dr. Honglei Chen, a Parkinson's expert and research associate at the
Harvard School of Public Health, says the new study's findings
reflect those of earlier research.


"There is little doubt that environmental factors, though still to be
identified, play important roles in late-onset Parkinson's disease,"
she says.


Besides pesticides, living in rural areas and neurotoxins have been
implicated in the development of Parkinson's disease, Chen says, but
more research is needed.


"Given the potential beneficial effects of fruits and vegetables on
other major chronic diseases, people should continue to view fruits
and vegetables as a healthy component in their diets," Chen says.


Grandinetti agrees. "Eating fruit is a healthful thing."
However, "it's probably a good idea to wash fruit pretty thoroughly."



In other Parkinson's developments reported at the American Academy of
Neurology meeting, researchers said on April 1 that a new cell therapy
product called Spheramine shows promise.


Six patients followed for 24 months on the therapy had a 41 percent
improvement in their motor function, even while off other Parkinson's
drugs.


The cell therapy works, the researchers say, by enhancing levels of
the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain, which is lacking in
Parkinson's patients.



Studies of the cell therapy are continuing.