Geir Bjorklund*, Vera Stejskal, Mauricio A. Urbina, Maryam Dadar, Salvatore Chirumbolo and Joachim Mutter Pages 2198 - 2214 ( 17 )
Genetic background accounts for only 5 to 10% of the reported cases of Parkinson's disease (PD), while the remaining cases are of unknown etiology. It is believed that environmental factors may be involved in the causality of a large proportion of PD cases. Several PD genes are activated by xenobiotic exposure, and a link between pesticide exposure and PD has been demonstrated. Many epidemiological studies have shown an association between PD and exposure to metals such as mercury, lead, manganese, copper, iron, aluminum, bismuth, thallium, and zinc. This review explores the biological effects, the pathogenetic processes, genetic susceptibilities to metals as well as examining future strategies for PD treatment, such as chelation therapy.
Substantia nigra, alpha-synuclein, beta-amyloid, glutamate, glutathione, oxidative stress, metals, dopamine.
Council for Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, Mo i Rana, Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Departamento de Zoologia, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanograficas, Universidad de Concepcion, Casilla 160-C, Concepcion, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Department of Neurological and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Department of Environmental and Integrative Medicine, Medical Center, Konstanz