MicrobeWorld

Many other viruses and bacteria have been implicated in Parkinson's disease There are listed at Link Text. Interestingly interferon gamma, a cytokine induced by many infections also kills substantia nigra neurones Link Text suggesting a common means whereby many infections could target these dopamine neurones, whose destruction leads to Parkinson's disease. These pathogens are common and of course do not produce Parkinson's disease in all cases of infection - Suseceptibility genes, which are often related to the immune system and to pathogen entry and defence pathways likely play a role in conditioning their effects.