This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Abstract
Objective: To examine the relationship between midlife milk intake and Parkinson disease (PD) incidence through associations with substantia nigra (SN) neuron density and organochlorine pesticide exposure in decedent brains from the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study.
Methods: Milk intake data were collected from 1965 to 1968 in 449 men aged 45–68 years with postmortem examinations from 1992 to 2004. Neuron density (count/mm2) was measured in quadrants from a transverse section of the SN. Additional measures included brain residues of heptachlor epoxide, an organochlorine pesticide found at excessively high levels in the milk supply in Hawaii in the early 1980s.
Results: Neuron density was lowest in nonsmoking decedents who consumed high amounts of milk (>16 oz/d). After removing cases of PD and dementia with Lewy bodies, adjusted neuron density in all but the dorsomedial quadrant was 41.5% lower for milk intake >16 oz/d vs intake that was less (95% confidence interval 22.7%–55.7%, p < 0.001). Among those who drank the most milk, residues of heptachlor epoxide were found in 9 of 10 brains as compared to 63.4% (26/41) for those who consumed no milk (p = 0.017). For those who were ever smokers, an association between milk intake and neuron density was absent.
Conclusions: Milk intake is associated with SN neuron loss in decedent brains unaffected by PD. Whether contamination of milk with organochlorine pesticides has a role in SN neurodegeneration warrants further study.
GLOSSARY
- H&E=
- hematoxylin & eosin;
- HAAS=
- Honolulu-Asia Aging Study;
- HHP=
- Honolulu Heart Program;
- PD=
- Parkinson disease;
- SN=
- substantia nigra
Footnotes
Go to Neurology.org for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article.
Editorial, page 496
- Received May 14, 2015.
- Accepted in final form September 9, 2015.
- © 2015 American Academy of Neurology
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
If you are uploading a letter concerning an article:
You must have updated your disclosures within six months: http://submit.neurology.org
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
