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[darthness]

PARIS, March 17 (AFP) - Parkinson's, the disease that numbers Pope John Paul II and actor Michael J. Fox among its victims, seems to strike men far more than women, according to a study published on Wednesday.

Men may be 50 percent more at risk than women of contracting Parkinson's, it said.

The article is a meta-study -- an overview of published research into the incidence of the disease -- and not an attempt to figure out clinically why this may be the case.

Its authors speculate the causes may lie in exposure to toxic chemicals and head trauma, which could affect men more than women.

In addition, women may enjoy enhanced protection against Parkinson's thanks to the female hormone oestrogen.

Another theoretical cause could be dysfunction by a component inside brain cells called the mitochondria.

Several previous studies have also pointed to a gene in the X chromosome that causes susceptibility to Parkinson's, which under the rules of heredity would make men more at risk.

The article appears in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Parkinson's is caused by a lack of a chemical called dopamine, manufactured in part of the brain stem called the substantia nigra, although the causes for this deficiency remain unclear.

The symptoms are progressively worsening muscular trembling and stiffness, stumbling and slurred speech.