Recent evidence suggests that glucosidase beta acid (GBA) mutations predispose Parkinson's disease (PD) patients to a greater burden of cognitive impairment and non-motor symptoms.
A higher prevalence and increased severity of motor and non-motor symptoms is observed in PD patients harboring mutant GBA1 alleles, suggesting a link between the gene or gene product and disease development.
GBA variants predict a more rapid progression of cognitive dysfunction and motor symptoms in patients with PD, with a greater effect on PIGD than tremor.
The data suggest that both LRRK2-PD and GBA-PD are similar to IPD, except for an earlier age at onset and relatively more common non-motor symptoms in GBA-PD patients.
The homozygous MTX1 c.184A/A genotype was associated with a significantly earlier age of motor symptoms onset in patients with GBA mutations compared to other groups of patients tested (5.1-5.9 years younger, p = 0.002-0.01).