The Cause of Parkinson Disease
Before reading further, it is very important to note that the cause of Parkinson disease (also Parkinson’s disease, or PD) is almost always described as being “idiopathic”. This means that most patients with Parkinson disease contracted it through no specific cause. That said, however, in far less common cases, scientists have been able to document an actual cause of Parkinson disease. In fact, there have been several documented causes. Again, these are extremely uncommon, but they include: genetic factors, toxins, head trauma, and drug-induced.
Cause of Parkinson Disease
When the cause of Parkinson disease is genetic, typically this indicates a genetic mutation. This was discovered in recent years as specific populations (Contursi, Italy) have been discovered with a dramatic increase in the rate of Parkinson’s patients. Someone with Parkinson disease is more likely to have relatives with the disorder; however, this does not necessarily mean that the condition has been passed on genetically.
Toxins, as a cause of Parkinson disease, stem from a theory that the condition can result from a combination of environmental exposure to toxins to which the patient is also genetically predetermined to be vulnerable. The stem of this belief is rooted in the peculiar fact that Parkinson disease is not evenly distributed throughout the population of the globe. In fact, the disorder is found vary geographically, as well as by time – it was not fully observed until after the Industrial Revolution. If toxins are in fact the cause of Parkinson disease, it is theorized that the most likely suspects are certain pesticides and transition metals (e.g. manganese or iron).
Head trauma is listed as a possible cause of Parkinson disease due to the fact that past episodes of head trauma are reported far more frequently by Parkinson’s patients than non-sufferers. A recent study found that individuals who have experienced head injury are four times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who have not.
Finally, drugs such as antipsychotics have been found to be a cause of Parkinson disease. These are typically medications used to treat schizophrenia or psychosis.
Though the above factors have been statistically proven to increase the chances of contracting Parkinson disease, it is again important to realize that these cases still account for an extremely small minority of patients. They are by no means the direct cause of Parkinson disease (though steering clear of pesticides and head trauma is definitely not a bad idea).
