Parkinson's Disease

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Causes

The body's ability to produce smooth, controlled, muscular activity is a product of many complex, interrelated functions. Few, however, are as critical as the functioning of the nerve cells, or neurons, in the part of the brain called the substantia nigra. These neurons produce the brain chemical dopamine, which is responsible for transmitting signals associated with muscular activity between the substantia nigra and another part of the brain, the corpus striatum.

Parkinson's disease occurs when these neurons die or cease to function properly. Without enough dopamine to control them, the neurons of the corpus striatum cannot function in their usual, coordinated manner, and the result is an inability to direct or control the body's movements normally.

Research has found the typical Parkinson's patient has an 80% or greater deficiency of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra. It is as yet impossible to state conclusively why these cells die or become impaired, but there are several theories.

One suggests the nerve cells are damaged by free radicals—unstable molecules generated by normal chemical reactions in the body. Free radicals lack one electron, and attempt to replace it by reacting with nearby molecules in a process called oxidation, which is potentially damaging to tissues, including neurons. This damage normally is controlled by other chemicals called antioxidants. Some imperfectly understood mechanism, possibly associated with the aging process, prevents this balance from occurring, the theory maintains.

Another theory holds that some form of toxin, either external or internal, destroys the dopamine-producing neurons. Exposure to pesticides or a toxic substance in the food supply is thought to be the cause, but research has not yet been able to prove this theory conclusively.

Genetic factors also are being investigated. Because roughly one-fifth of Parkinson's patients have at least one close relative with some form of parkinsonian symptom, scientists are investigating the possibility that the roots of Parkinson's disease might be locked within an as-yet unexplored facet of DNA.

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