What Causes Parkinson’s Disease?
In nine out of every 10 people diagnosed with PD, no clear cause can be determined. Doctors and researchers still have much to learn about this disease! Sometimes, however, PD seems to be genetically inherited. This is most often the case when patients are younger. Most patients with PD have no family members with the disease, but they may still have inherited genes that raised their risk.
No matter what the root cause, the symptoms of PD arise because of a problem in a part of the brain that controls movement. Levels of a brain chemical called dopamine are too low in this brain region. This makes movements jerky and uncontrolled. It can also cause problems such as trembling or shaking. These symptoms may interfere with things you want to do—using a computer, playing tennis, or taking walks, for example.
Most treatments for PD aim to restore dopamine function in the brain to normal levels.
