The Costs Of Living With Parkinsons
Finding out that you have Parkinsons may come as a shock. Once youve had time to come to terms with your diagnosis, you may want to consider your legal options.
Living with Parkinsons is very expensive. The cost of doctor consultations, hospitalization, medications, and therapies can easily reach tens of thousands of dollars per year. In addition to medical expenses, patients and their families can have costs such as lost wages due to an inability to work, early forced retirement, and family caregiver time. Those who cannot work due to Parkinsons may lose employer-sponsored healthcare benefits and have difficulty qualifying for private coverage because of their Parkinsons.
Paraquat lawsuits can help to ease the financial burden of living with Parkinsons. Syngenta did not warn that being exposed to the herbicide could cause you to develop Parkinsons disease. By filing a paraquat lawsuit, you can hold the manufacturer accountable and make sure that you receive the best care possible.
How Many People Are Living With Parkinsons
The new study found that 90,000 Americans a year are diagnosed with Parkinsons, up from the previous estimate of 60,000. This finding is based on five previous prevalence studies, including data through 2012, so it is likely an underestimate, Okun said.
Men are nearly twice as likely as women to receive the diagnosis, according to the research, and incidence generally increases with age beginning in the 60s.
A 2018 study from the Parkinsons Prevalence Project estimated that 930,000 people in the U.S. would be living with Parkinsons by 2020 and 1.2 million by 2030, largely driven by the aging population.
Pinpointing the incidence rate can help convince lawmakers to direct more funding to Parkinsons research and companies to invest in treatments, Beck said.
We want to use this data to encourage policy makers to reconsider how much funding Parkinsons disease gets and the impact on society, he said. Theres a real call to action here.
A Discussion Of How Environmental Factors Such As Pesticides May Affect Your Risk Of Parkinsons Disease
During my recent interview on Wisconsin Public Radio, many of the callers asked questions related to environmental risks of Parkinsons disease , specifically, exposures related to farming. Those calls prompted me to delve further into this complicated and murky topic.
Before we start discussing specific factors in the environment that may increase risk of PD, lets understand some basic ground rules that will help put this topic in perspective
With that background, let us begin.
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Who Is At Risk Of Parkinsons Disease From Exposure To Paraquat
Research indicates that low-level chronic exposure to paraquat significantly increases the risk of Parkinsons disease, which makes the farm workers and applicators who sprayed the herbicide on fields the most vulnerable populations. Also anyone who mixed the product and the flag men who signaled for the planes applying the weed killer were also potentially exposed.
However, families living near the farms may also be at risk since people can be exposed to paraquat through the air, and the herbicide can transfer to clothing and rub off on furniture. And there is strong scientific evidence that indicates that individuals exposed to the herbicide in their teens and young adult years had more than a twofold risk of developing Parkinsons.
If you have Parkinsons disease and believe that it developed due to your exposure to paraquat, call us immediately at for a free and confidential case evaluation.
What We Treat In South Florida
The specialists at The Pauline Braathen Neurological Center provide high quality care and treatment for complex neurological conditions. Using a multidisciplinary approach that brings together a team of specialists, we offer medical management and innovative surgical options for patients diagnosed with a variety of movement disorders including:
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What Money Can I Get From A Paraquat Lawsuit
Personal injury attorneys for Paraquat victims are fighting to recover financial compensation for:
- All medical expenses, including hospital stays, doctors visits, medicines, rehabilitation, and home health care
- Lost wages from being too disabled to work
- Loss of future earnings from being unable to work and
- Pain and suffering
Paraquat victims may be able to sue for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.
How Exposure To Paraquat Occurs
People can be exposed to paraquat in several ways. However, the CDC warns that the most common exposure comes from ingestion. People who eat food, drink water, or consume other beverages contaminated with paraquat might not realize they are consuming the toxic substance if they are exposed to a form without the blue dye. Those who inhale paraquat also face exposure. This isnt as common but has occurred for cannabis users. In recent decades, marijuana growers have used paraquat, putting those who smoke in danger of exposure. Finally, contact with the skin also leads to exposure, especially if contact lasts for a long time, involves a high concentration of paraquat, or enters the body through a wound, rash, or cut. For example, workers who get paraquat on their clothing can transfer it to furniture in their homes, putting the entire household at risk for exposure.
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Importance Of Expert Care
People living with Parkinsons who seek expert care have better outcomes. Their complication risks are lower, and they enjoy better quality and longer lives. In fact, neurologist care saves about 4,600 lives each year in the U.S. alone. Better access to this care could help tens of thousands of people with Parkinsons.
Whether youre newly diagnosed or have been living with Parkinsons for a while, getting the right care at the right time can make a difference for you and your family.
Is There Any Safe Way To Use Paraquat
Since the most toxic method of exposure to paraquat is swallowing, preventing this from happening is key to safe use. Because any amount of paraquat is dangerous when swallowed-even a minute amount-tamper-proof product packaging can help safeguard against it.
The safest way to use products containing it is by certified application technicians. EPA guidelines restrict its use to these professionals, even banning even their assistants and other non-licensed agricultural workers from using it. In addition, safety precautions to take before use of paraquat-containing herbicides and pesticides can include:
- Covering the skin and hands during use
- Removing protective clothing after use
- Not pulling contaminated clothing over the head
- Quickly and thoroughly washing exposed skin
- Wearing eye protection and avoiding contacts
Contaminated clothing should also be disposed of immediately in sealed double bags. Paraquat users are cautioned to dispose of other items that come into contact with contaminated clothing, as well.
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What Is The Paraquat Mechanism Of Action
The paraquat mechanism of action involves a process called redox cycling, which is a chemical reaction that generates highly reactive, oxygen-centered free radicals. These oxygen species directly induce cell damage and eventual death.
This rather simplified process constitutes the main mechanism of paraquat toxicity and what paraquat exposure can do to plants and humans alike. While on one hand, the process results in the death of green plants, in humans, it results in the gradual death of nerve cells in the brain responsible for movement, which causes the slowly progressive, neurodegenerative condition Parkinsons disease.
Sports School Mental Health
Paradigm also has a sports program to keep middle-school and high-school athletes in training while theyre in treatment.
School happens year-round and is coordinated with the patients home school. Often, these kids are behind in school because they havent been attending regularly before they came to Paradigm. They can use individual instruction time at Paradigm to catch up.
The teens stay in casitas that look like bedrooms with four beds in them and a separate bathroom. The kids are divided by gender. Often, part of the treatment is getting kids back to sleeping at night. There are no devices in the bedrooms to distract them. Computers are available for schoolwork only, and thats done in the school/social/dining room.
Paradigm also has a garden for kids to watch something they plant grow. That garden gets used by the chef to create their meals, which are focused on nutrition to also help improve mental health. Paradigm also uses the grounds to do walk-and-talk therapy, or do group therapy outside.
They can start to take a breath and ground themselves in this setting, Dugas said.
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Parksinons Disease Injury Cases& Camp Lejeune
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry , people exposed occupationally or environmentally to the chemicals detected in the drinking water at Camp Lejeune may be at an increased risk of developing Parkinsons disease.
For example, ASTDR explained that TCE is a mitochondrial neurotoxin in animal studies and mitochondrial dysfunctions in substantia nigra dopamine neurons is consistent with human pathological staging of Parkinsons.
Furthermore, a Committee from the Institute of Medicine who was asked by the Veterans Administration to review certain medical conditions, concluded that consumption of contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune may be linked to neurobehavioral effects such as Parkinsons:
he committee finds that TCE and similar solvents may have potential etiologic relevance in the development of Parkinsons disease. The committee concludes that Parkinsons disease is a neurobehavioral effect that may have resulted from the consumption of the contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune. This conclusion is based on the positive trends of increased risks from occupational and drinking water exposures reported by Goldman et al. , NRC , and Bove et al. .
Committee on the Review of Clinical Guidance for the Care of Health Conditions Identified by the Camp Lejeune Legislation Board on the Health of Select Populations Institute of Medicine.Washington : National Academies Press 2015 Mar 26.
Florida Parkinson Foundation Center Of Excellence
The University of Florida Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration was created in July 2002 and remains one of the most vibrant, most collaborative, and most rapidly growing Centers in the McKnight Brain Institute and College of Medicines enterprise. Since the launch of the center the growth has been exponential. It now forms the core of the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases.
The Parkinson Foundations Centers of Excellence are chosen by a peer-review committee that bases designation on an individual centers demonstrated excellence, their resources, and their dedication to Parkinson research, clinical care and outreach initiatives. COEs are renewed competitively every three years and now site visited and certified.
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Paraquat Is Used In Many Ways
To understand how exposure to paraquat can be common, it is helpful to understand how this chemical is used. It is frequently used during the production of numerous crops, including peanuts, strawberries, grapes, and almonds.
One of the reasons that use of paraquat has increased so dramatically in recent years is that it has proven to be effective against weeds that developed a resistance to other herbicides like glyphosate.
Many of the risks of paraquat have been known for years. This substance is already limited by the EPA and labeled as a restricted use pesticide. That means that there must be special permission to purchase and use paraquat. Despite these limitations, contact with this substance is possible for people other than the workers handling paraquat directly.
Who Should File A Paraquat Lawsuit
If you suffer injuries and losses because of Paraquat exposure, it is important to speak with a trusted personal injury attorney. This person will determine your eligibility for filing a lawsuit.
Filing a lawsuit to recover damages from Paraquat can not only provide you with compensation for your injury and suffering, but it can also help bring justice by holding the companies who are responsible accountable.
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Is This The Only Herbicide To Be Linked To Adverse Human Health Effects
No. Rotenone has also been linked to Parkinsons disease, but it was phased out as a pesticide in the U.S. because of safety concerns. It is still used for government-directed fish kills.
Other pesticides have been linked to many diseases and conditions, including infertility, breast cancer, learning difficulties, and leukemia.
Who Is At Risk For Paraquat Exposure
Since paraquat is highly restricted, most people at risk for exposure are those who apply, mix, or load the weed killer, including:
- Farmers and farmworkers
- Chemical mixers
In 1997, the EPA confirmed that the primary route of exposure to paraquat occurred during the weed killers preparation, application, and post-application. To minimize exposure risk, regulations require those who work with the highly toxic chemical to use chemical-resistant gloves made of barrier laminate, butyl rubber, nitrile rubber, neoprene rubber, natural rubber, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride , or Viton. All must be equal to or greater than 14 mils. Applicators also must use respiratory protection and safety glasses that include splash guards. Mixers and loaders must add a full-face shield and a chemical-resistant apron.
Paraquat isnt available for household use, but the EPA also said that individuals who live near farms using paraquat risk exposure to the weed killer. In 2009, a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology backed up this finding, revealing that people who lived within 500 meters of paraquat use had a 75% increased risk of developing Parkinsons disease.
Coincidentally, the American Parkinson Disease Association reported that individuals who met any of the following criteria were more likely to develop Parkinsons:
- Farming as an occupation
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Roundup Lawsuit Settlement Update
Roundup lawsuit settlement amounts have continued to vary based on the circumstances of each case. The World Health Organizations International Agency for Research claimed in 2015 that glyphosate, a chemical found in Roundup weed killer, is probable to contain carcinogens. After obtaining this information, Bayer, which is Roundups manufacturer, has kept their product on the shelves and need to be held legally accountable.
Personal injury attorneys who handle Roundup lawsuits have helped customers reach fair settlements in the past. If you have suffered from non-Hodgkins lymphoma or other related cancers due to Roundup exposure, an attorney can represent you in a lawsuit.
The Tragic Link Between Paraquat And Parkinsons Disease And Torhoerman Laws Quest For Justice
EDWARDSVILLE, IL / ACCESSWIRE / December 31, 2020 / Paraquat is putting farmers and farming communities across the nation in danger. The herbicide has been directly linked to Parkinsons disease and has already been banned in many countries, including China, Brazil, and the EU. This begs the question of why farmers in all 50 states are still able to utilize the dangerous chemical. TorHoerman Law is on a mission to bring awareness to this dangerous chemical, the risks involved, and the legal options available to those who suffer from Parkinsons linked to Paraquat exposure.
Paraquat is a chemical agent used primarily as an herbicide in no-till farming. Its most commonly used as a spray, being a less labor-intensive alternative to discing/standard tilling farming. As more weeds become resistant to RoundUp, Paraquats popularity in farming continues to grow across the US. In 2017, the last year in which data is available, use was estimated to be almost 10 million pounds annually in the United States.
The dangers of ingesting the chemical are fairly well-known, as a dose of just 2.5 grams is lethal. For this reason, it has been the cause of death in multiple suicides and accidental deaths. The immediate effects of Paraquat are deadly, but the lasting effects of Paraquat exposure may pose an even more sinister threat to farmers, pesticide applicators, tank fillers/mixers, and the families living in and around farming communities.
Contact Name: Chad A Finley
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Modelling Pd In Rodents And Simple Organisms
Impaired mitochondrial function is a predominant feature in cases of Parkinson’s disease due to genetic or environmental modifications, which result in mitochondrial stress. This may directly compromise the neuron or cause alterations in neurotransmitter release, resulting in post-synaptic damage. A pro-inflammatory component is increasingly considered to be important in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative conditions including PD, and pro-inflammatory activation of glial cells may be pivotal in disease onset.,
Although many of the genes involved in PD have been identified, their interactions are still unclear. Mutations of -synuclein or duplications of -synuclein are linked to familial PD and -synuclein is a component of Lewy bodies. -synuclein tends to form intracellular fibrils and aggregates, particularly after oxidative stress. Loss of an ubiquitin ligase, Parkin, is responsible for autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism. Finally, mutations in genes coding for UCH-L1 and Pink-1 are linked to autosomal recessive PD, whereas mutations in LRRK2 are linked with autosomal dominant PD. Recent work has shown that mutations in the mitochondrial protease HtrA2 are also linked to PD downstream of the kinase, Pink 1. Mutations in Parkin are recognized as the most common cause of familial parkinsonism and may be involved in sporadic PD. Parkin seems to work as a broad-spectrum neuroprotectant, the efficacy of which decreases with ageing.
Deadlines Associated With Paraquat Lawsuits
Each state has a different statute of limitations to bring a paraquat lawsuit. If you fail to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations, you are unlikely to be able to recover any compensation, no matter how strong your case is. And bringing a paraquat lawsuit is not the kind of thing you do at the last minute.
A good paraquat lawsuit attorney needs as much time in advance of filing as possible to build the foundation of their clients case. Proving that paraquat led to your Parkinsons disease requires lengthy investigations, medical documentation, lab tests, expert analysis, expert testimony, and more.
It is best to contact a lawyer as soon as possible after your Parkinsons diagnosis. The sooner they can begin working on your case, conducting an investigation, and building the link between your exposure to paraquat and your Parkinsons disease, the better chance you have of receiving compensation.
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