(biblio)Even though most degenerative diseases are genetic, the cause sometimes comes from medical conditions such as “alcoholism, tumor or stroke” (biblio) and “ toxins, chemicals, and viruses. Sometimes the cause is not known. Degenerative diseases, depending on their type, can be life-threatening. Treatments can help improve symptoms, increase mobility, and relieve pain, but most are incurable. Corticobasal degeneration or sometimes also known as cortical basal ganglia degeneration (CBD) is a rare degenerative disease characterized by "nerve cell loss and atrophy (shrinkage) of multiple areas of the brain", including the fronto- temporal of the cerebral cortex. and the basal ganglia.