Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in France, after Alzheimer’s disease. The biological mechanisms are quite well identified, as well as certain risk factors, but there are still unknowns about the real causes of the disease.
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In France, according toInserm100,000 people are affected by the Parkinson disease. Each year, 8,000 new cases are recorded in France. The Parkinson disease is a pathology neurodegenerative linked to the destruction of certain cells in the brain : the neurons at dopamine of the black substance. In the brain, neuronal degeneration is accompanied by the presence of Lewy bodies: toxic clusters of proteinalpha-synuclein.
Recently, research has focused on the intestinal causes of the disease. Indeed, years before the onset of the characteristic tremors, patients often develop gastrointestinal disturbances.
Parkinson’s disease: risk factors
The risk of Parkinson’s disease increases with age: rare before the age of 45, the pathology appears on average around the age of 70. In addition to age, factors genetic and environmental conditions could favor the onset of the disease. Thus, about twenty genetic variants associated with Parkinson’s have been identified. They affect, for example, the gene foralpha-synuclein. However, Parkinson’s disease cannot be considered hereditary, only 5% of cases are of genetic origin.
Furthermore, thepesticide exposure promotes Parkinson’s disease. Work on farmers has shown that those who have been exposed to insecticides organochlorines have a higher risk of developing the disease. Parkinson’s disease is now recognized as an occupational disease among farmers. A research published in 2018 suggests that the pesticides would act on the mitochondria. However, in Parkinson’s disease, the mitochondria of the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra do not function correctly.
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