What Causes Parkinson's?

No matter what I read about Parkinson's I am still intrigued the most by the question of what causes this difficult disease? Why does it sometimes seem to run in families, but more often than not seem to just affect someone out of the blue?

I have read extensively about possible causes mostly because knowing the exact cause can only help with finding a way to stop the disease and/or cure it. My own personal belief is that there is often a genetic pre-disposition, but that there is also generally something environmental that triggers the cell death that occurs. Then again I am sure that there are cases with no genetic link at all and other cases where the disease developed solely based on genetics. I'd love to know how this continuum from genetics to environment works.

I know a lot about several of the genes that are implicated as links to Parkinson's, but so far there is no smoking gun genetically. I also know that pesticides and heavy metals are often sited as environmental causes. The latest potential cause is that the heavy metals that often exist in wine can lead to Parkinson's (as well as some cancers). Just a few years ago the biggest "healthy thing" to do was to have 1 glass of red wine a day to protect your heart. So it seems that wine might protect your heart, but hurt you in other ways.

I do not believe we know at this time whether or not most of the sources implicated truly cause disease or protect us against disease. I am hoping that in due time these things will become more apparent. For now I am planning to live my life well and enjoy every moment. I don't plan to be overly worried about pesticides, heavy metals in wine or my genetics.

How about you? Would you want to know if you had a PD gene? Are you avoiding all pesticides and other possible environment causes? Let me know.