Parkinson’s disease involves damage to a special kind of nerve cells (neurons) in a part of the brain that makes a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine sends messages throughout the body to help control movement.
Parkinson’s causes these neurons to make less dopamine over time, causing controlling of movement and completion of other tasks to become harder. The cause of the damage to these neurons is not known.
Risk Factors
The strongest risk factors for Parkinson’s disease are age and family history.
- Parkinson’s disease rates rise with age. People in their 70s and 80s are most likely to have it. Roughly 1 in every 500 adults in this age group has the disease.
- Up to 15 percent of people with Parkinson’s disease have a parent or sibling who has had the disease.
- People with prolonged exposure to pesticides also have a higher risk of having Parkinson’s. Pesticides probably don’t cause Parkinson’s disease directly, but exposure may increase the chance of getting it.
Last Updated March 2023