Researchers interviewed 49 MZ (identical) and 50DZ (fraternal) pairs of twins in

Question

Researchers interviewed 49 MZ (identical) and 50DZ (fraternal) pairs of twins in which one had Parkinson disease, asking about lifetime exposure to six chemical solvents that case reports had previously associated with the disease. Average age at diagnosis was 66, with symptoms starting 10 to 40 years after exposure began. The researchers found that long-term exposure to trichloroethylene increases Parkinson disease risk sixfold and to perchloroethylene ninefold, in both types of twins. Explain how the design and results of this study support either of two hypotheses: that Parkison disease is inherited, or that it is caused by environmental exposure. Do you think that the results are good news or bad news, and why?

Explanation / Answer

Parkinson’s disease:

Parkinson’s disease is the multi organ neurodegenerative disease. It affects the nervous system, olfactory, gastrointestinal tract.

Neurotransmitter dopamine is absent due to death of dopaminergic cells.Motor skills are affected, symptoms include depression, cognitive decline, sleep.

Parkinson’s disease shows major cellular dysfunction, they are , mitochondrial dysfunction, protease dysfunction, calcium homeostasis, neuroinflammation, -synuclein aggregation, and oxidative stress.

Parkinson’s disease caused by genetic inheritance is unknown, only few mendelian inheritance pattern was studied. But in majority individual its unknown because the identified genetic susceptibility cause only small effect.

Environmental factors causing Parkinson’s disease:

Exposure to 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, organic solvents, metals, and air pollutants has been proposed to increase risk for Parkinson’s disease.

90% of Parkinson’s disease show no family history. So it is not due to gene inheritance. Exposure to chemicals increase the chance of getting the disease.

Discussion:

Parkinson’s disease caused due to environmental factors is the bad news for us, because unknowingly we are exposed to various factors due to pollution. Prevention is better than cure; scientists have identified some of the factors that has found to reduce the risk of getting Parkinson’s disease.

Preventive measures:

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