Living next to a golf course 'can increase Parkinson's risk'

Two US neurologists have suggested an unlikely risk factor in the development of Parkinson's disease - proximity to a golf course.

The Huffington Post reports that Margaret Parrish and Robert Gardner collected a random sample of 26 patients with the neurodegenerative condition and discovered that 19 of those lived within two miles of a golf course.

It was also revealed that 16 of those occupied properties that are downwind of the course and the suggestion is that this may lead to an increased exposure to pesticides and weed killers that have been linked to Parkinson's.

The chemicals contained within these are believed to attack neurons in the brain, leading to the development of the disease. 

Although the sample size is too small to derive definitive conclusions, the theory does provide further clues as to what are the potential environmental causes of the condition.

Scientists from the University of Washington recently published findings suggesting exposure to a toxin called manganese can significantly increase a person's chance of developing Parkinson's. Manganese is released during the welding of heavy metals.

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