Is Parkinson’s disease in the water? Rethinking its causes beyond genes

For years it was believed that Parkinson’s was a hereditary issue, but the evidence is beginning to tell a different story.

An epidemiological study published in Jama Neurology links the disease to exposure to chemicals such as trichloroethylenean industrial solvent that has contaminated aquifers in the united States and could be driving the accelerated increase in cases.

Parkinson’s disease (PD), known for its devastating impact on movement control and neurological function, has been one of the great enigmas of modern medicine for decades.

Traditionally, it has been considered a predominantly genetic disease., a vision is being challenged by new findings wich point to a much more important role of the environment and environmental exposure, including drinking water, in the onset and progression of this condition, how to register in Wired.

This orientation has been reinforced by emblematic cases such as that of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, a carrier of a mutation in the LRRK2 gene that increases his risk of disease.

In addition, fundraising campaigns promoted by figures such as Michael J. Fox. in fact, more than half of the resources dedicated to Parkinson’s research in the last two decades have been allocated to studying its genetic basis.