The cause of Parkinson's disease is unknown, but symptoms typically occur when dopamine-producing cells in a certain area of your brain are damaged or lost.
Why do these cells stop producing enough dopamine? There are different theories about what causes dopamine-producing cells to stop, including:
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- Heredity. Although PD is not a hereditary disease, certain abnormal genes appear in the families of some people with PD. No direct link has been found between these genes and PD, but the more researchers study them, the better they understand PD.
- Environmental or external factors. Before PD was described by James Parkinson in 1817, it was not known in medical literature. Some believe that pollution from the Industrial Revolution caused Parkinson's disease, but this has never been proven. No virus or bacteria has been linked to PD.
- A combination of the two. The most widely held theory about why PD develops in some people involves exposure to environmental factors and predisposing genetic factors.
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| While the cause is not yet known, researchers continue to work toward a better understanding of the cause and treatment of PD.
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