ReviewJournal of Parkinson's disease2023
Trichloroethylene: An Invisible Cause of Parkinson's Disease?
Review in Journal of Parkinson's disease, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Human Neurotoxicity of Trichloroethylene: A Biomarker Approach.Journal of applied toxicology : JAT · 2026Article
- Protective Role of Thymoquinone Against TCE-Induced Liver Damage Through HSP70 Modulation.Journal of biochemical and molecular toxicology · 2026Article
- DYRK1A and Parkinson's disease, facts and hypotheses.Neurobiology of disease · 2026Review
- Parkinson-PEST: protocol for a case-control study on environmental risk factors and Parkinson's disease.BMJ open · 2026Article
- A comprehensive assessment of lifecourse and mortality of Parkinson's disease in the German National Cohort.NPJ Parkinson's disease · 2026Article
- Validation of remote multimodal AI screening for Parkinson disease across diverse settings.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- The Parkinson's pandemic: prioritizing environmental policy and biological resilience via the gut.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Article
- Review
- Examination of shared gut microbiome signatures in aging and Parkinson's disease.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Review
- Pharmacological modulation of p75 neurotrophin receptor in microglial cells improves resilience to rotenone cytotoxicity.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Progress in diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease and clinical application and prospect of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Developmental exposure of zebrafish to 1-Trichloromethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline (TaClo) elicits MPTP-like neurotoxicity.Neurotoxicology · 2025Article
- A PLAN to address the Parkinson pandemic.Journal of Parkinson's disease · 2025Review
- Ambient Trichloroethylene Exposure and Parkinson Disease Risk in Medicare Beneficiaries.Neurology · 2025Article
- The global, regional, and National burden of parkinson's disease in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2021: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2021.BMC public health · 2025Article
- LRRK2-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson's disease.The Biochemical journal · 2025Review
- Blood Biomarkers of Neurodegeneration over Four Decades After Toxic Oil Syndrome: A Case-Control Study.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Global, regional and national temporal trends in Parkinson's disease incidence, disability-adjusted life year rates in middle-aged and older adults: a cross-national inequality analysis and Bayesian age-period-cohort analysis based on the global burden of disease 2021.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The etiologies of Parkinson's disease (PD) remain unclear. Some, such as certain genetic mutations and head trauma, are widely known or easily identified. However, these causes or risk factors do not account for the majority of cases. Other, less visible factors must be at play. Among these is a widely used industrial solvent and common environmental contaminant little recognized for its likely role in PD: trichloroethylene (TCE). TCE is a simple, six-atom molecule that can decaffeinate coffee, degrease metal parts, and dry clean clothes. The colorless chemical was first linked to parkinsonism in 1969. Since then, four case studies involving eight individuals have linked occupational exposure to TCE to PD. In addition, a small epidemiological study found that occupational or hobby exposure to the solvent was associated with a 500% increased risk of developing PD. In multiple animal studies, the chemical reproduces the pathological features of PD.Exposure is not confined to those who work with the chemical. TCE pollutes outdoor air, taints groundwater, and contaminates indoor air. The molecule, like radon, evaporates from underlying soil and groundwater and enters homes, workplaces, or schools, often undetected. Despite widespread contamination and increasing industrial, commercial, and military use, clinical investigations of TCE and PD have been limited. Here, through a literature review and seven illustrative cases, we postulate that this ubiquitous chemical is contributing to the global rise of PD and that TCE is one of its invisible and highly preventable causes. Further research is now necessary to examine this hypothesis.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.