Table of contents:
- How does Parkinson's disease occur?
- What causes Parkinson's disease?
- Genetic
- Environment
- What factors increase the risk of developing Parkinson's disease?
- Age
- Gender
- Heredity
- Poison exposure
- Metal exposure
- Head injury
- Certain jobs
- Living area
- Low fat milk
Have you heard of Parkinson's disease? This disease can cause loss of control of the function of movement in a person's body. Thus, sufferers will have difficulty carrying out simple daily activities, such as walking, writing, or even buttoning clothes. However, do you know what causes Parkinson's disease? Here's the full review for you.
How does Parkinson's disease occur?
Parkinson's disease occurs due to loss, death, or disruption of nerve cells (neurons) in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra. The nerve cells in this section function to produce a brain chemical called dopamine. The dopamine itself acts as a messenger from the brain to the nervous system which helps control and coordinate body movements.
When these nerve cells die, are lost, or are damaged, the amount of dopamine in the brain is reduced. This condition causes the brain to not work properly in controlling movement. As a result, a person's body movements become slow or other changes in motion occur that are not normal.
This loss of nerve cells is a slow process. Therefore, the symptoms of Parkinson's may appear gradually and get worse over time. Even the NHS says, these symptoms also only begin to appear and develop when the nerve cells in the substantia nigra have disappeared by as much as 80 percent.
What causes Parkinson's disease?
Until now, the cause of the loss of nerve cells in the substantia nigra in people with Parkinson's disease is not certain. However, scientists believe, a combination of genetic and environmental factors plays a role in causing this condition. Here is complete information about the causes of Parkinson's disease:
Some diseases may be caused by heredity, but this does not fully affect Parkinson's disease. The reason is, Parkinson's Foundation said, genetic factors only affect about 10-15 percent of all Parkinson's sufferers.
The most common genetic effect that triggers Parkinson's disease is a mutation in a gene called LRRK2. However, cases of this gene mutation are still rare, and usually occur in families of North African and Jewish descent. A person who has this gene mutation may also be at risk of developing Parkinson's in the future, but they also may never develop the disease.
As with genetics, environmental factors are not entirely responsible for Parkinson's disease. In fact, the NHS says, the evidence linking environmental factors to Parkinson's disease is inconclusive.
Environmental factors, such as exposure to toxins (pesticides, herbicides, and air pollution) and heavy metals as well as repeated head injuries, are said to increase a person's risk of developing Parkinson's. However, this risk is relatively small. Environmental factors may influence the development of Parkinson's disease, especially in people who also have a genetic susceptibility.
Apart from the causes above, other conditions and changes in the brain also occur in people with Parkinson's. This condition is believed to hold important clues as to the cause of Parkinson's disease, namely its existence Lewy bodies or clumps of certain substances, including alpha-synuclein protein, that are unusual in the nerve cells of the brain.
What factors increase the risk of developing Parkinson's disease?
Several factors, including environment, are said to increase a person's risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Although not entirely the cause, you need to pay attention to these factors to be able to prevent Parkinson's disease in the future. The following are risk factors for Parkinson's disease that you may need to be aware of:
Parkinson's disease is a disorder that commonly occurs in elderly people (elderly) or those aged over 50 years. Younger people rarely experience Parkinson's, although the disease can be diagnosed at a younger age. Therefore, the risk of Parkinson's disease increases with age.
Men are more susceptible to Parkinson's than women, although there is no definite explanation for this. The National Institute on Aging said, this disease affects 50 percent of men more than women.
Parkinson's is not an inherited disease. However, you are more at risk of developing this disease if you have a family member with a history of Parkinson's. Although the risk is very small, this can occur due to genetic factors that may be the cause of Parkinson's disease.
Exposure to toxins, such as pesticides, herbicides, and harmful substances in air pollution, is said to increase the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Pesticides and herbicides that are often used in plantations are said to cause oxidative stress and cell damage in the body, which is closely related to Parkinson's disease.
Several studies have also found that various types of air pollutants, including ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and copper metals in the air (mercury and manganese) can also increase the risk of Parkinson's disease, although they are relatively small.
Apart from these hazardous substances, chemicals that are often used as solvents in many industries, namely Trichlorethylene (TCE) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB), are also associated with Parkinson's risk, especially in long-term exposure.
Occupational exposure to various metals is thought to be linked to the development of Parkinson's disease. However, long-term exposure to the metal is not easily measured and the results of studies measuring the link between Parkinson's risk and certain metals have also been inconsistent.
Traumatic brain injury is also identified as a risk factor for Parkinson's disease. However, the progression of the disease is generally not felt until several years after the injury has occurred. The mechanisms underlying this are unclear.
Certain occupations have been linked to the risk of Parkinson's disease. This may be closely related to jobs that are at risk of exposure to certain toxins, chemicals, or metals, such as farming or industrial workers.
Certain living areas can also increase a person's risk of developing Parkinson's disease. This is related to differences in environmental factors and genetic risk. Several studies have concluded that someone who lives in rural areas has a higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease due to risk factors for exposure to toxins from agricultural areas.
However, it should also be noted, someone who lives in urban areas is also at risk of exposure to air pollution, which is also often associated with the risk of Parkinson's disease.
According to studies published in Medical Journal of the American Academy of Neurology, people who consumed at least three servings of low-fat milk per day had a 34 percent greater risk of developing Parkinson's disease compared with people who, on average, only consumed one serving of low-fat milk per day.
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that intake of low-fat dairy products may be associated with an increased risk of Parkinson's disease. However, this study is purely observational, so it cannot explain the cause and effect of this conjecture. In-depth research is needed to determine whether low-fat milk can be the cause of Parkinson's.
