Parkinson’s Disease is a neurological disease that is compounded by the absence of the neurotransmitter dopamine. The symptoms of this disease vary according to individuals and can be mild to severe. Normally this is a progressive disease that runs its course through 5 stages where physical, cognitive and emotional well-being is increasingly compromised. Although in many instances no reason for the disease can be given (Idiopathic) in some cases Parkinson’s can be linked with several factors. For example, some studies link toxic exposure, head traumas, drugs and genetics may be causative factors in the disease.

It is believed that a trauma to this region of the brain may lead to the onset of Parkinson’s symptoms. In fact, studies suggest that people with Parkinson’s disease are more likely to have suffered a traumatic brain injury than the rest of the population (National Parkinson’s foundation).

Another factor that seems to be strongly linked as a cause of Parkinson’s Disease is toxic exposure to chemicals or minerals that in excess become damaging to brain tissue. For example, iron in excessive quantities may damage normal cells in the brain. These cells are often key to the manufacture of dopamine which seems to be a determining factor in the onset of Parkinson’s.

Researchers don’t use the word “cause” when linking environmental exposures to a disease. Instead, epidemiologists look for clusters and patterns in people, and neurobiologists test theories in animals. If their findings are repeatedly consistent, that is as close to proving cause and effect as they get.

Now, with Parkinson’s, this medical detective work has edged closer to proving the case than with almost any other human ailment. In most patients, scientists say, Parkinson’s is a disease with environmental origins.

Scientists are “definitely there, beyond a doubt, in showing that environmental toxicants have to be involved” in some cases of Parkinson’s disease, said Freya Kamel, an epidemiologist with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences who has documented a high rate of neurological problems.