Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder that affects the nervous system. It is a progressive disease that has an effect on how the person moves, speaks, and writes. This disease usually starts out with very mild symptoms and hence may go undetected until it reaches a worse stage. Over 60,000 people in the country are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease each year. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for this disease.
What causes Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s disease is related to the levels of a chemical known as dopamine. This chemical is produced in the crescent-shaped cell mass in the brain known as the substantia nigra. Dopamine is responsible for sending messages between the brain and muscles to control movement.
Parkinson’s patients have very low levels of dopamine as the dopaminergic neurons or nerve cells that produce dopamine begin to die. Experts are not yet clear on why these cells die. Low dopamine levels make it very difficult to move as the muscles do not receive the message from the brain and cause abnormal nerve functioning. As the disease worsens, the dopamine levels drop further; thus, making the symptoms more severe.
Risk factors for Parkinson’s disease
Certain factors can help determine the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. Some of them are listed below:
- Age
Parkinson’s disease is usually diagnosed in people above the age of 60. It is also known that the disease progresses with age. Hence, the risk of Parkinson’s also increases with age.
- Genetics
Genetics can influence the risk of getting Parkinson’s disease. Hence, in rare cases, the disease may affect a person if his or her parent or sibling suffers from it.
- Occupation
Exposure to certain chemicals has been linked to Parkinson’s disease. This includes certain types of insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides. Thus, people involved in agriculture may have a higher risk of this disease. Use of metals such as lead and manganese and chemicals such as trichloroethylene may also increase the risk. Thus, people who work in factories with such metals and chemicals have a higher risk of getting Parkinson’s disease.
- Ethnicity
Caucasians have been observed to have a higher risk of Parkinson’s as compared to other ethnicities.
- Head injury
A serious head injury that causes memory loss or makes the person lose consciousness may result in Parkinson’s disease at a later age.
- Gender
Parkinson’s have been commonly observed to affect men more than women.
- Living environment
People who live in rural areas have a higher risk of being diagnosed with this disease. This may be because farming is common in rural areas and exposure to particulate causes is high.
- Sleep disorders
People who have rapid eye movement sleep disorders have a high risk of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease within four years of being diagnosed with the sleep disorder. According to some studies, the risk may be double of that of people who do not suffer from such sleep disorders.
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic disease that cannot be controlled or cured as no one understands the factors causing this disease. Most of the risk factors are uncontrollable; hence, little can be done to prevent Parkinson’s. Treatment for this disease aims at improving the patient’s quality of life and making him or her more comfortable.
