July 27, 2006 
Researchers at the University of North Dakota release preliminary results of a 4-year study examining pesticides' effects on brain functioning in rats. They report that brain damage resulting from pesticide exposure resembles the patterns found in neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's. 
 
June, 2006 
The Harvard School of Public Health announces a new prospective study showing individuals with chronic, low-dose exposure to pesticides had a 70% higher incidence of Parkinson's disease than those not exposed. The press release for the study states that "The significant association between pesticide exposure and Parkinson’s disease among individuals who are not farmers is most likely explained by use of pesticides at home or in gardening." The study will be published in July in the journal Annals of Neurology. 
 

The Harvard study dovetails with another study published this month in the journal Movement Disorders. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that men with Parkinson's were 2.4 times more likely to have had exposure to pesticides than those who did not have Parkinson's. "This confirms what has been found in previous studies: that occupational or other exposure to herbicides, insecticides and other pesticides increases risk for Parkinson's," says Jim Maraganore, M.D., Mayo Clinic neurologist and study investigator. 
 
January, 2006 
Two new studies are published documenting the damaging effects of pesticide exposure on humans. In the respected journal Epidemiology, scientists publish findings that men attending an infertility clinic who had higher urine levels of pesticide metabolites (breakdown products) had lower levels of testosterone.  
 
Also this month, French researchers publish a study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine showing that exposure to pesticides in the womb or as a child can double the risk of developing acute leukemia. 
 
July 27, 2005 
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) publishes a study entitled Acute Illnesses Associated With Pesticide Exposure at Schools. The authors review five years worth of surveillance data on pesticide exposure at schools and conclude that "implementation of integrated pest management programs in schools, practices to reduce pesticide drift, and adoption of pesticide spray buffer zones around schools" are warranted."