It is not known why a person gets Parkinson's disease. There is no mystery as to what causes it, but when it comes to a cure and why it occurs, that is the real mystery that medical experts have been trying to uncover for years. In some cases, Parkinson's disease is genetically linked to a past relative. Aside from genetically inherited cases, no one knows why Parkinson's disease affects the people it does. When a person is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, they will find that as the condition progresses, they lose more and more control of their body every day. Parkinson's disease is a disorder of the nervous system and occurs when the brain cells responsible for producing dopamine in the body begin to slow down the process of producing dopamine and/or stop it altogether. These dopamine-producing cells are found in a group of cells called the substantia nigra, which is found in the midbrain, also known as the midbrain. What dopamine does is send electrical signals in the brain between dopamine-producing nerve cells from the substantia nigra to the striatum (part of the forebrain). With the right flow of electrical signals between nerve cells, your body will produce smooth muscle movements. When dopamine production is disrupted, slows down, or stops, this will cause a lack of dopamine. With this lack of dopamine, the muscles in the body will produce shaky, jerky movements instead of the smooth, graceful movements they are accustomed to. Disrupted for long enough, during an acute attack of Parkinson's disease, dopamine-producing cells and surrounding tissue will begin to die causing a brief... middle of paper... Clinic, February 15, 2011 http:// www.mayoclinic.com/health/parkinsons-disease/DS00295/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs May Clinic, February 15, 2011 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/parkinsons-disease/DS00295/ DSECTION=lifestyle-and -home-remediesMay Clinic, February 15, 2011http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/parkinsons-disease/DS00295/DSECTION=alternative-medicineMay Clinic, February 15, 2011http://www.mayoclinic. com/health/parkinsons-disease/DS00295/DSECTION=preventionMay Clinic, February 15, 2011http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/parkinsons-disease/DS00295/DSECTION=risk-factorsNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), October 18, 2004 http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/parkinsons_disease/parkinsons_disease_ backgrounder.htm Pub Med Health, May 6, 2011 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001762/