The Harvard School of Public Medicine published in the Annual Review of Neurology a study led by Dr. Albert Ascherio. The study, led by Dr. Albert Ascelio, was conducted by a group of medical professionals. The study found that 70 percent of those who reported being exposed to pesticides in 1992 were found to be more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease in the next 10 years. In previous studies, people were often asked such questions after they had been diagnosed, so their answers were often unreliable. This study is based on what the person said before they developed Parkinson’s disease, so this finding is more credible. The medical research team headed by Dr. Ascelio reportedly used data from a survey of the link between diet and cancer that began in 1992. Of the volunteers who completed the original data, more than 140,000 were followed up in 2001 with a follow-up survey. Of those people, 413 have developed Parkinson’s disease since that survey. Among the initial questions and answers was one about whether they had been exposed to pesticides, and a total of 5,203 men and 266,1 women responded affirmatively. By analyzing these results, the team found that after taking into account age, gender and other risk factors, 70 percent of those who had said they had been exposed to pesticides were more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. The authors of the study concluded that further research is needed to see what kind of pesticide or what type of pesticide causes the disease. Georgina Downes, a British anti-pesticide expert, said, “Considering the fact that pesticides can cause Parkinson’s disease, it is important to look at what kind of pesticide or what type of pesticide causes it. Downes said, “This is not a shocking conclusion considering that many pesticides are toxic to the nervous system and studies have shown time and again that it is linked to various chronic neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease.” She stressed that “the government must act immediately. The only way to protect public health and prevent pesticide-related diseases is to universally adopt proven natural pesticide killing methods without chemicals so that exposure to pesticides can be avoided.”