Genetic connection to Parkinson’s disease

The genome (all the genetic material) of 413  patients suffering from multiple system atrophy (MSA), a form of parkinsonism, and of 3974 control subjects was analyzed to establish whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (small mutations) were associated with an increase in the risk of MSA.  Small mutations of the alpha-synuclein gene were associated with an increase in such risk by 5.5 times.  The same gene is responsible for rare cases of juvenile Parkinson's disease.

 Source:  Scholz at al Ann Neurol 2009; 65: 610-614