Oxidative Stress: A Potential Link Between Pesticide Exposure and Early-Life Neurological Disorders

Since the past few decades, various chemicals and termed pesticides have been used to protect the crops from pests. The pesticides are mostly used in large quantities in agriculture and toxic exposure to such chemicals is reported to impact human health by causing morbidity and severe disabilities. The indiscriminate use of different pesticides is reported to cause neurotoxicological problems at different stages of human lives. Most of the pesticides are reported to raise the oxidative stress level in the human system. This elevated level of reactive oxygen species is known to exhibit severe damage to different cellular systems. Neuron cells are highly sensitive toward the elevation of oxidative stress and thus pesticide-mediated toxicity leads to different neurological disorders in humans. This chapter elaborates upon different classes of pesticides and their effect on oxidative stress. Following this, the association between pesticide exposure and the development of different neurological disorders are also discussed in this chapter.