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PD Hereditary?

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Parkinson's Disease
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Posted 9/17/2015 12:58 PM (GMT 0)
My father, his twin brother and my grandfather (dads side) all had PD. my father's progressed rather quickly or so it seemed to me. His twin brother is a smoker and shows only the early tremors. They are 80 years old. Is PD hereditary? And if so is there something I could do to put off the disease? Exercise diet caffeine?

I recently went through prostate cancer and this forum was a wonderful place for me to learn what everyone experiences what is normal etc. and what to talk to my doctor about. I thank you all for being here despite the circumstances.
Posted 9/18/2015 4:29 AM (GMT 0)
Jorgy,
Welcome to the Parkinson's Forum.

You ask an interesting question. I am no expert, just a person with Parkinson's. However, it has only in the last few years that there was known evidence of a genetic link. Today things like alpha-synuclein and the LRRK2 gene(do a 'google' search for more info) are indicators of a possible genetic link. Only about 10% of the cases are thought to be genetic. Others are idiopathic or sporadic - meaning the cause is unknown.

Another interesting thought is that PD may not really be one disease. Instead there may be multiple diseases - which, in part, may be the reason that no two people have the same symptoms or response to meds.

Lastly, with your family history, have you ever thought about contacting a researcher to see if there is any interest in studying your family? If so, and you don't know how to go about it, let me know and I'll see what I can find out. Just a thought.

Best of luck,
lizzy4451
Posted 9/18/2015 11:52 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you Lizzy! As I had hoped you have given me a place to start some research.

My father passed away shortly after surgery this year. He had been doing quite a bit of research on his own before he was actually diagnosed (I found out later). Neither He nor my mom told me about his health concerns so I never got to speak with him about it. (Live 1300 miles apart)

He grew up in a farming community and several of his childhood friends also have PD. Wondering if the chemicals, fertilizers, etc maybe were a contributor.

Since his twin brother is behind, or not as far along with PD I was looking at what they do differently. The main thing was the smoking and I had read that caffine and nicotine users seem to postpone some of the symptoms. Absolutly sure my diet was a factor in prostate cancer so wanted to make changes that would be beneficial regarding PD if there seemed to be any correlation with diet.

Any other help to a beginner would be appreciated.
Posted 9/21/2015 5:09 AM (GMT 0)
Jorgy,
A couple of pesticides that Parkinson's researchers are studying as a potential cause/contributor to PD are: rotenone and paraquat. If exposed to welding, check out manganese. If exposed to jet fuel, particularly on air craft carriers where folks were often inadvertently showered with jet fuel, note a higher incidence of PD. I believe there is some group effort by Veterans on this one.

Hope this helps,
lizzy4451
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