Causes of Parkinson’s Disease:
The damage of nerve cells in the Substantianigra of the brain causes Parkinson’s disease.
Dopamine is a chemical produced by the nerve cells in Substantianigra. Its function is to send information to the other parts of the nervous system which enables normal movements of the body. When these nerve cells get damaged the production of dopamine reduces and further impairs regular body movements. Parkinson’s disease is slow and worsens the condition when 80% of the brain cells are damaged making one difficult to manage the daily activities.
What causes the loss of nerve cells?
The actual reason for the nerve cells getting damaged is not known. The study is going on to understand what stimulates the brain cells to die which leads to Parkinson’s disease. These are some of the main factors that cause Parkinson’s disease.
Genetic Changes:
The mutations in genes are found to be one of the reasons for developing Parkinson’s. Although it’s very rare for his offspring to inherit the disease there are certain faulty genes that might pass it on.
Environmental factors:
The herbicides, pesticides, environmental pollution is also identified by the researchers as one of the factors for the Parkinson’s. Yet this cannot be considered or concluded as the main reason for the disease.
Lewy Bodies:
These are clusters of proteins found in the brains of people with Parkinson’s. The cells are unable to breakdown these proteins which further degenerates the brain cells as they surround them. This, in turn, blocks its normal function affecting the person’s mobility skills.
Loss of Dopamine:
Dopamine is a chemical that nerve cells produce which enables in processing and sending information to the different parts of the brain. With the damage in the brain cells, the supply of dopamine reduces which affects its function thereby leading to symptoms like difficulty in balance and movements which is very much the main reason for Parkinson’s disease.
Age and Gender:
Parkinson’s is more evident in people above 60 and more common in men than women. It’s more identified as a disease related to age which gradually decreases the strength, stamina, balance and movements because of the loss of dopamine in brain cells. The disease is very rare in the younger generation.
Other causes of Parkinson’s:
There are certain diseases that are closely related to Parkinson’s or fall under the same symptoms like rigid muscles, tremors, mobility is termed as Parkinsonism. While Parkinson’s is the most common, the other diseases that are rare but have Parkinsonism in it are –
- Cerebral Infarction that is a stroke affects the entire part of the brain
- Certain antipsychotic medications can show symptoms such as the Parkinson’s which are basically drug-induced and gets better when the medication is stopped.
- Corticobasal Degeneration, Multiple Systems Atrophy and Supranuclear Palsy are other brain conditions that have Parkinsonism in it.
Can Parkinson’s disease be prevented?
No. There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease. The symptoms can be improved through drug therapy and surgeries.