Most medical professionals describe Parkinson’s disease as idiopathic, which means that there is no specific cause to the disease. There are, however, some less common factors that may cause Parkinson’s disease. These include cerebral anoxia, head trauma, toxins, genetics and drug-induced Parkinson’s. These past few years, there have been an increased number of specific genetic mutations that have been known to cause Parkinson’s disease. However, these account for only a small number of cases. An individual suffering from Parkinson’s disease is likely to have a relative, who also suffers from Parkinson’s disease, but this does not mean that the disease is passed genetically. Recently, there has been evidence that a common defect in a gene has been known to contribute to both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

There is also the theory that Parkinson’s is the result of genetic vulnerability to environmental toxins and the exposure to these toxins. This hypothesis is backed by the fact that Parkinson’s is not homogenously distributed; the incidences vary geographically. The problem with the theory is that the first occurrence of the disease happened before the said toxins were even synthesized. Transition-series metals and pesticides are to more strongly suspected causes of Parkinson’s. Studies have shown that people who were exposed to pesticides had a greater incidence of Parkinson’s disease than those who weren’t exposed.

Individuals suffering from Parkinson’s disease have been known to report past episodes of head trauma than other people in the population. Studies have also shown that those who have suffered from a head trauma are 4 times more at risk of developing Parkinson’s disease that people who have never suffered from a head trauma. The risk increases to 8-folds if the head injury required for the person to be hospitalized. It increases to 11-fold if they experienced very severe head trauma.