Does your Family Health History Play a Part in Parkinson’s disease?

Parkinson’s disease is a central nervous system disorder that results from a loss of cells in the substantia nigra section of the brain, where the chemical dopamine is produced. A progressive condition that affects balance and movement and that gets worse with age, it is estimated that Parkinson’s disease affects about one percent of people over the age of 50.

Who Gets Parkinson’s Disease? Are you at risk?

Parkinson’s disease attacks both men and women. Most of the people who are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease are over the age of 50, but about five percent of Parkinson’s sufferers are young-onset cases under the age of 40. The disease is fairly common, with estimates of approximately four million people suffering from the disease worldwide. About one million of these are in North America, where diagnosis is better than in some other areas of the world. Even, so experts suggest there may be another half million people in the United States who have the disease, but have not yet been diagnosed.
Parkinson’s symptoms usually occur when dopamine-producing cells in the brain die or are impaired. About 80 percent of these cells can be affected by the time most people are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. No one knows why the substantia nigra cells are affected in some people, who then display symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and not in others.
About 15 percent of cases of Parkinson’s disease occur in people who have a family history of the condition, while the remaining 85 percent of cases are considered sporadic, with no known history of the disease in the family, and the inheritance pattern, if it exists, remains unknown.
When family history comes into play, it is usually a result of mutations of the LRRK2, PARK2, PARK7, PINK1, or SNCA genes. Modifications to other genes may also increase or decrease the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. Genetic testing may help shed light on an individual’s propensity for developing Parkinson’s disease when a mutation is a factor.
Parkinson’s disease may appear more than once in the same family without the condition actually being inherited. Because the causes of Parkinson’s remain unclear, it is possible that environmental contributors may also play a role instead of or in addition to genetics.

Parkinson’s Disease, Pregnancy and Children

Women and men who have Parkinson’s disease may worry about passing on the disease to their children, but statistically, having a parent with Parkinson’s only raises a person’s risk of developing the disease at some point in his or her lifetime to about six percent. Additionally, women of child-bearing age with Parkinson’s disease can safely have children without immediately ‘passing on’ the disease, although they should speak to their doctor about the possible effects of medications on the fetus in utero and afterward when the baby may be breastfeeding. Prospective parents may also want to discuss the potential ramifications of raising a child while living with Parkinson’s and its progressive, long-term debilitation.