Scientists have been looking for the cause or causes of Parkinson's disease for decades, so that they could develop better medications and treatments. They have uncovered many clues such as:
- Inflammation playing a large role in Parkinson's disease
- Head trauma and pesticides contributing to Parkinson's disease
- Environmental factors that may cause Parkinson's disease
- Genetics that make Parkinson's disease occur, as well as clusters of related genes that may be even more likely to cause PD. (For an easy introduction to genetics click here.)
There is almost certainly a chain of events that leads up to Parkinson's disease. Furthermore, there are probably a few different events that can start the chain reaction that leads to PD. Where this chain starts is the big mystery. Events such as inflammation breakdown or the failure of the enzyme Prx2 may be one of the events along that chain. The better they define the first events that cause Parkinson's disease, the more likely they are to come up amazing Parkinson's disease medications.
Sources:
Washington Post
Science Daily
Cell Press
Neuron 55, 37--52, July 5, 2007