Causes of Parkinsons Disease


The brain works in a very meticulous and yet complex way. The brain itself is divided into two different parts and both these parts communicate with each other through a chemical known as dopamine. The chemical gets produced within the brain and it is only through this communication between the two hemispheres of the brain that your body movements occur.

One of the main causes of Parkinson's disease is the lack or insufficiency of the chemical dopamine. When the amount of dopamine that is secreted into the brain reduces, it can cause an impairment of the communication between the left and right parts of the brain. Eventually, the cells of the brain begin to degenerate and the brain loses control over the muscles and the movements of the limbs.

The loss of control over your muscles is usually intensified when the brain cells degenerate. This may even cause loss of motor abilities, especially fine motor abilities. You may no longer be able to hold a pen, write or pick up things normally. Other activities such as driving may also get affected due to the lack of motor skills.

There are some dysfunctional cellular processes, stress and persistent internal inflammation that could also cause cell damage in the brain. A persistence of such conditions may cause the brain cells to deteriorate, and finally cause Parkinson’s disease.

There are several risk factors for Parkinson’s disease. Here are a few of them:

  • Though a lot of conditions may cause Parkinson’s disease, age is perhaps the most pressing of all. Parkinson’s disease is initially only associated with people who were older than 60 years in age. Brain cell degeneration is more likely in older people and therefore the incidence of the disease is higher in them.
  • Though the connection is really unclear, men are twice as likely to develop the condition as women.
  • Parkinson's disease may manifest through families in rare cases. In the research performed on this disease, only a few families have been seen to have the condition running through them. However, since there is evidence of such genetic linkage, it is possible that some gene mutations may run through generations.
  • People, who are exposed to environmental and chemical toxins, may experience rapid degeneration of the brain cells.
  • Head trauma and illnesses may also increase the likelihood of developing Parkinson’s disease.

Frequently asked questions
References
  1. Jay M. Gorell, Edward L. Peterson, Benjamin A. Rybicki, Christine Cole Johnson, Multiple risk factors for Parkinson's disease, Journal of the Neurological Sciences, Volume 217, Issue 2, 15 February 2004, Pages 169-174, ISSN 0022-510X, 10.1016/j.jns.2003.09.014.
  2. J. Pagonabarraga, Parkinson’s Disease: Definition, Diagnosis, and Management, In: Editors-in-Chief:  Katie Kompoliti and Leo Verhagen Metman, Editor(s)-in-Chief, Encyclopedia of Movement Disorders, Academic Press, Oxford, 2010, Pages 405-412, ISBN 9780123741059, 10.1016/B978-0-12-374105-9.00061-7.