Studies using reconstructed exposure histories have suggested an association between heavy metal exposures, including lead, and Parkinson's disease (PD), and a study that used bone lead as a biomarker of cumulative lead exposure also reported a nonsignificant association with PD. Weisskopf et al. estimated the association between bone lead and PD among 330 PD patients and 318 controls.

Epidemiologic evidence suggests that chronic stress may alter susceptibility to air pollution, but spatial confounding between these factors limits the utility of epidemiologic methods to disentangle these effects and investigate physiologic mechanisms. Clougherty et al. (p.

Farmworkers can be exposed to a wide variety of cholinesterase inhibiting pesticides. Routine screening for cholinesterase inhibition is not required in many states in the United States, or may be required for workers that apply or handle pesticides, but not those doing routine work in the fields.

Autism has long been defined by its drawbacks

Autism has long been defined in terms of its drawbacks. Now it's time to look at the benefits, argues David Wolman.

Recent epidemiological studies suggest that diabetes mellitus is a strong risk factor for Alzheimer disease. However, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, to investigate the pathophysiological interaction between these diseases, we generated animal models that reflect the pathologic conditions of both diseases.

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Chromosomal abnormalities are frequent events. Globally, at least 7.6 million children are born annually with severe genetic or congenital malformations. Precise prevalence data are difficult to collect, especially in India, owing to great diversity of conditions and also because many cases remain undiagnosed. Genetic and congenital abnormality is the second most common cause of infant and childhood mortality and occurs with a prevalence of 25- 60 per 1000 births. The higher prevalence of genetic diseases in a particular community may, however, be due to some social or cultural factors.

Lead exposure has long been associated with deficits in IQ among children. However, few studies have assessed the impact of lead on specific domains of behavior and cognition. The authors evaluated the associations between lead and different domains of neurobehavior and their relative sensitivity to lead.

In India there are very few population based data on prevalence of depression. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of depression in an urban south Indian population. Subjects were recruited from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study (CURES), involving 26,001 subjects randomly recruited from 46 of the 155 corporation wards of Chennai (formerly Madras) city in South India. 25,455 subjects participated in this study (response rate 97.9%). Depression was assessed using a self-reported and previously validated instrument, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) – 12.

With the expansion of mobile phone technology and the associated obvious presence of mobile phone base stations, some people living close to these masts reported symptoms they attributed to electromagnetic fields (EMF). Public and scientific discussions arose with regard to whether these symptoms were due to EMF or were nocebo effects.