title: The disease intersection of susceptibility and exposure: chemical exposures and neurodegenerative disease risk.
abstract: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and motor neuron disease, the most common of the late-life neurodegenerative disorders, are in most cases thought to have complex etiologies. Common features among these disorders include insidious onset, pathological findings of protein aggregates and selected neuronal degeneration, and resulting characteristic clinical syndromes. The number of elders in the United States, including aging veterans, is increasing. Investigation of causes and preventive interventions for neurodegenerative disorders is increasingly relevant. Recent epidemiological and laboratory studies suggest that exposures years or decades before diagnosis can trigger the processes that ultimately result in a neurodegenerative disease. If this is correct, preventive measures may be needed in midlife or earlier. This article will focus on putative risk factors relevant to military service.
authors.affiliation: Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Parkinson's Institute, Sunnyvale, CA, USA. Electronic address: caroline.tanner@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Caroline M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Tanner
authors.affiliation: Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Parkinson's Institute, Sunnyvale, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Samuel M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.affiliation: Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care System, Honolulu, HI, USA.
authors.forename: G Webster
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, MSAMRMC, Fort Detrick, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Grate
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008889:Military Personnel; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Gene-environment interaction; Military; Motor neuron disease; Neurodegeneration; Parkinson's disease; Pesticides; Risk factors; Solvents; Traumatic brain injury