Causes of parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease

Simply put, Parkinson’s disease is an illness of a certain brain area. Main and visible symptom is shaking, which usually affects the muscles of the extremities and rarely other parts of the body. Even though, we do not know the exact cause of Parkinson’s disease, there are some proven facts that might explain the nature of this illness. The age group that is in risk of getting affected by Parkinson’s disease is over 50 and the risk is even higher as the age increases. Fortunately, it is not hereditary, but genetics may play an important role, especially if the illness occurred in people younger than 50.

The most infected brain area is substantia nigra, which is important because it creates dopamine, an important neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are used for transferring neural commands to various parts of the body, including muscles, and if not working properly, those commands become incoherent and not executable. Other symptoms, beside tremor are bradykinesia and muscle rigidity. Bradykinesia can be described as slow and difficult movements, while rigidity is explained as increased muscle tension. There is another substance that we will mention - norepinephrine, which is secreted by the nerve endings and since those are not working properly, regulation of ANS (automatic nervous system) is not under the full control, which might cause certain health issues, such as high blood pressure.

Some possible causes of Parkinson's disease

As previously stated, exact causes of Parkinson’s disease are unknown. What we do know is that there are theories that say that Parkinson’s disease might be induced by some sort of toxins found in the surrounding environment. Those toxins might come from pesticides, chemical substances usually used in rural surroundings. There is no exact link between Parkinson’s disease and that type of substances, but scientists are sure that there is some connection. Of course, this is only one possible etiological factor we are talking about here, but we must mention that Parkinson’s disease might even happen because of some injury that heals fast, but leaves a patient with another illness.

The important thing is that constant medical research is done in order to discover causes of Parkinson’s disease. At the moment, latest research is trying to show if exposure to some specific herbicides and pesticides might create good conditions for the appearance of this disease. Complex researches are done because there is no cure for this illness, only medications that will subdue the symptoms as much as possible and give a patient a bit more quality life.