Environmental Factors Causing Parkinson's Disease

The cause of Parkinson disease, defined by Robert Hauser, who is an author of Medscape, is still unclear. Studies state that there is a combination of environmental and genetic factors for this particular disease. Approximately 10% of cases are currently genetic causes of Parkinson disease. Environmental risk factors such as use of pesticides, living in a rural environment, consumption of well water, exposure to herbicides, and proximity to industrial plants or quarries are commonly associated with the development of Parkinson disease (Hauser, 2016). In addition, according to Hauser, “genetic factors in Parkinson disease appear to be very important when the disease begins at or before age 50 years. In a study of 193 twins, overall concordance for MZ and DZ pairs was similar, but in 16 pairs of twins, in whom Parkinson disease was diagnosed at or before age 50 years, all 4 MZ pairs, but only 2 of 12 DZ pairs, was concordant.The identification of a few families with familial Parkinson disease sparked further interest in the genetics of the disease.

If you eat unhealthy, fatty foods your whole life, you have a higher risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or arteriosclerosis. If you have unprotected sex, you may contract a sexually transmitted disease, such as syphilis, gonorrhea, or HIV/AIDS. But, Parkinson’s doesn’t racially discriminate, nor does it care if someone is wealthy, poor, educated, non-educated, male or female. Anyone can develop Parkinson’s disease. The disease begins in the brain, our most intricate, delicate organ, whose complexity is still not entirely understood, even with today’s technology and experts. The brain intrigues me. I find myself curious about brain

Some experts believe this disease is related to the inhalation of pesticides, while others believe it results from the inhalation of chemical elements such as copper, lead, or manganese. It has been linked to heredity. It is believed that 15% of those diagnosed with the disease have a family history of the mutated gene. Scientists believe there are two types of carriers for this gene that determines a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease. The first type of carrier guarantees a diagnosis, whereas the second type of carrier only increases the chance of being diagnosed. This theory has yet to be

Parkinson’s disease is a very well-known disease. It plagues about five million people worldwide, about a million of those cases are in the United States. A person does not lower their chances of getting Parkinson’s by living in a certain part of the world. It is not more, likely to happen in one location than, another. It has to do with age and genetics (“Demographics of parkinson’s,” 2014). It is a disease of the older generation, around about one percent of people over the age of 60 years old have Parkinson’s disease (Hauser, 2014). As one ages the likelihood of a person developing goes up. About four percent of people over the age of 80 years old develop Parkinson’s disease. The percentage of people who have Parkinson’s that are younger than 40 years old, is less than 10 percent. It is more

The path physiology of Parkinson’s disease is the pathogenesis if Parkinson disease is unknown. Epidemiologic data suggest genetic, viral, and environmental toxins as possible

Parkinson's is a disease that may happen in younger people, but the risk mainly increases

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive late-onset disorder that affects the nervous system. The part of the brain that is most affected is the substantia nigra which controls balance and movement. Consequently, the most noted symptoms of this disease are tremors, inability to move, stiffness, or reduced coordination and balance. Scientists have identified many genes that contribute to Parkinson’s but also suggest that the nature of the disease comes from both genetic and environmental factors. The genes we know so far are: LRRK2, PARK2, PARK7, PINK1 (PARK6), SNCA, GBA, and UCHL1; the last two are attributed to developing family history of Parkinson’s and not developing the disease in that individual. In the PARK2, PARK6, and PARK7 genes, in order

Definition: “Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, progressive disease of the nervous system characterized by the cardinal features of rigidity, bradykinesia, tremor, and postural instability” (O’Sullivan and Schmitz, 2007). The condition can develop between age group 60 and 80 years and symptoms mostly appear around 60 years of age (O’Sullivan and Schmitz, 2007).

One mechanism is the aggregation of the misfolded alpha-synuclein proteins, causing the death of the dopaminergic neurons in the brain tissue (Dauer and Przedborski, 2003; Sultana et al. 2011). A second proposed mechanism is mitochondrial dysfunction, causing oxidative stress on the neurons promoting the activation of ROS (reactive oxygen spcies) thus causing apoptosis of the neuronal cells (Dauer and Przedborski, 2003; Zhang et al. 2012). Other mechanisms and links between these two proposed models have been suggested but further research is necessary to determine the direct pathways of neuronal death in PD. The root to the biochemical alteration in the dopaminergic neurons is a mixture of environmental effects and exposures as well as genetic factors. The genetic inheritance of Parkinson’s disease only affects approximately 10% of persons with PD (Shahaduzzaman et al. 2013) and is usually inherited from a direct relative (Elbaz and Tranchant, 2007). Environmental factors such as exposure to pesticides, traumatic brain injury, and age are believed to contribute to the development of PD and pose a possible threat to mutation of the genes involved in PD (Hassan et al. 2015). The multifactor of the involvement of environmental factors as well as genetic factors are believed to attribute for the majority of cases of

Parkinson's disease is known as a multifactorial disease as its incidence is associated with the environmental exposures especially pesticides.

Physical activity and Parkinson’s disease risk. Parkinson’s disease for most people has something to do with age, yes, many of the diagnosed patients are elderly around the age of sixty and there is a small portions that has been diagnosed at the age of forty, however, it is something that it builds in your by throughout the years. This is where physical activity comes in place, according to studies physical activity was associated with lower risk of Parkinson’s disease in both males and females. As we all have learned in the past weeks, physical activity is also associated with lower rates of obesity, diabetes, blood pressure. All these diseases have been associated with increased risk of Parkinson’s disease. “Studies of the effects of exercise

o When dopamine producing cells are reduced by 80%, the physical symptoms of Parkinson’s present themselves

Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized mainly by physical and psychological disabilities. This disorder was named after James Parkinson, an English physician who first described it as shaking palsy in 1817 (Goetz, Factr, and Weiner, 2002). Jean- Martin Charcot, who was a French neurologist, then progressed and further refined the description of the disease and identified other clinical features of PD (Goetz, Factr, and Weiner, 2002). PD involves the loss of cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine in a part of the brain stem called the substansia nigra, which results in several signs and symptoms (Byrd, Marks, and Starr, 2000). It is manifested clinically by tremor,

Researchers have found that cigarette smoking reduce risk of Parkinson disease (PD) by half for heavy smokers compared to non-smokers persons. Cigarette smoking is confirmed as risk factor for various diseases such as heart disease, lung cancer, and COPD. However, beneficial effects of cigarettes have been discussed over the years. It was in the late 1950’s studies reported an adverse association between smoking and Parkinson’s disease. More recently, several epidemiological studies supported the negative relation between cigarette smoking and PD. These findings suggested that patients who smoke are 50% less likely to have PD when compared to the non-smoker colleagues. This indicates that nicotines, which is the addictive

Several researches has been done so far but still It’s unclear exactly what causes Parkinson’s at any age. Either because of genetic factors, environmental factors, or combination of both factors involved. However, it has appeared across several generations of some families, so we can say that the disease is hereditary or genetic. But several research suggest that other external factors also responsible when combine with genetic factors. Slight shaking or tremor in your finger, thumb, hand, chin or lip is early sign for early