Reply To: Parkinson Disease, Edible Solanaceae, and Tobacco Mosaic Virus

Details

• Personal Author:
  Checkoway, Harvey ; Franklin GM ; Longstreth WT Jr. ; Searles Nielsen S ; Swanson PD
• Description:
  Dr Liu and colleagues propose an interesting hypothesis in response to our finding that pepper consumption is associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson disease. Although we had examined this association because tobacco family (Solanaceae) edibles contain nicotine, which appears neuroprotective in animal models, we noted that other shared constituents of tobacco and peppers might also be relevant. Among the candidates we mentioned were anatabine and capsaicin. Like nicotine, they readily cross the blood-brain barrier and then presumably reach dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. A thorough examination will indeed include other possible agents. These include tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) as these authors suggest, although our data do not fully support it. Edible cucumbers and other Cucurbitaceae for which we have data (cantaloupe, zucchini, and yellow winter squash) are susceptible to TMV, but their combined consumption is not associated with Parkinson disease (relative risk = 1.00, 95% confidence interval = 0.72-1.38 per time per day, adjusted for Solanaceae, other vegetables, age, sex, race/ethnicity, tobacco use, and caffeine, not shown). In addition, the smoking-TMV antibody association recently observed by Liu et al was present in African Americans but not Caucasians, and overall, 30% of the smokers but none of the nonsmokers worked with tobacco products. Even in the absence of confounding by occupational TMV exposure, it is not yet clear that these intriguing results apply to our largely Caucasian population (or pepper eaters compared to noneaters). We look forward to continued research by this group and others to explore this and the many other possible alternative hypotheses for the inverse association between Parkinson disease and both tobacco use and consumption of peppers. Original article: Searles Nielsen S; Franklin GM; Longstreth WT Jr; Swanson PD; Checkoway H. Nicotine from edible Solanaceae and risk of Parkinson disease. Ann Neurol 2013 Sep; 74(3):472-477 https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.23884. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Nervous System Nervous System Diseases Nicotine Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Dietary Effects Neurological Disorders Parkinsons Disease Plants
• ISSN:
  0364-5134
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  75
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057161
• Citation:
  Ann Neurol 2014 Jan; 75(1):163
• CAS Registry Number:
  (-)-Nicotine (CAS RN 54-11-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Neurology
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5f9d0afff638115ae622d9bea01c11d6d1b77c4d2b006037e161eda771315bd2180fb6e8ff8ecfce0ae6989f05fd0af91be4a36481f624ac4fccdc6318e10770
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214593/cdc_214593_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 50.49 KB ]