It’s the world’s fastest growing neurological disorder, but a landmark plan could help put Australia on the frontline in the battle against the disease.

More than 200,000 Australians live with Parkinson’s disease – more than breast cancer or multiple sclerosis.

The condition’s worldwide prevalence doubled in the 25 years to 2015, currently sitting at around 10 million, and it’s tipped to double again by 2040.

The National Parkinson’s Action Plan, launched on Tuesday, aims to guide the federal government onto a warpath against the disease by streamlining Australia’s health and research capacities.

The only known causes of Parkinson’s disease are genetic, but epidemiological research has suggested exposure to pesticides and other toxins is a risk factor.

Professor Carolyn Sue said environmental and lifestyle factors could form pieces of the puzzle, but more research was needed before they were considered fully-fledged causes.

“There’s not one single factor that contributes to the whole spectrum of Parkinson’s disease,” she told AAP.

“More research needs to be done, which is exactly what the action plan calls for.”

The plan recommends backing tighter regulations on certain pesticides and industrial solvents linked to Parkinson’s.

Richard Wylie, executive director of the National Parkinson’s Alliance, the peak body behind the strategy, says Australia is already well resourced to take up the fight, but needs to mobilise.

A former advertiser turned public health expert, Mr Wylie took up Parkinson’s advocacy after losing his father to a rare and very aggressive form of the condition called progressive supranuclear palsy.

“The action plan calls on the government to really back our winners and continue backing research,” he told AAP.

Should the government heed its direction, advocates say the plan could land Australia on the cutting edge of global Parkinson’s research and quality of life improvements for patients, citing breakthroughs allowing medicines to replace or protect parts of the brain usually lost to the disease.

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