One major advance in this field has been the discovery of several genes associated to familial PD, including alpha synuclein, parkin, LRRK2, etc., thereby providing important insight toward basic research approaches.
We consider that these genes merit further attention in future studies as potential candidate genes involved in both idiopathic and LRRK2-G2019S-associated forms of PD.
We report that adult neurogenesis is highly susceptible to multiple "risk factors" for PD, including α-synuclein accumulation, LRRK2 G2019 mutation and exposure to environmental toxins.
Various mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) have been linked to susceptibility for both familial and idiopathic late-onset Parkinson's disease (PD).
By comparing results of a GWAS performed on individuals of European ancestry, we identified PARK16, SNCA and LRRK2 as shared risk loci for PD and BST1 and MAPT as loci showing population differences.
We replicated the effect of a new locus detected in the Japanese cohort (PARK16, rs823128, OR = 0.66, P = 7.29 x 10(-8)) and provide supporting evidence that common variation around LRRK2 modulates risk for PD (rs1491923, OR = 1.14, P = 1.55 x 10(-5)).