The preliminary results of this study showed that only the prevalence of CYP2D6 *4 allele differed significantly between the PD patients and control group (20.7% vs. 11.0%; p=0.027; RR=2.1, 95%CI 1.113-3.994).
However, a significantly elevated median age for the onset of PD was found among GSTM1 gene carriers (median age = 68 years) compared to PD patients being GSTM1 null genotypes (median age = 57 years).
COMT polymorphism, considered alone, showed no correlation with PD risk; however, a significant synergistic enhancement was found in PD patients harboring both the COMT(L) and MAOB G genotypes.
COMT polymorphism, considered alone, showed no correlation with PD risk; however, a significant synergistic enhancement was found in PD patients harboring both the COMT(L) and MAOB G genotypes.
In this case it is hypothesized that the ARs have now become hypertransactive, possibly coinciding with the estrogen resistance that is associated with PD tumors.
Nigrostriatal denervation was similar between the subgroups of PD patients as assessed using 125I-RTI-specific binding to the dopamine transporter and measures of catecholamine concentrations by HPLC.
However, a distribution pattern consistent with our hypothesis was observed in that the frequency of the 3435T/T genotype, which had previously been associated with decreased P-glycoprotein expression and function, was highest in the early-onset Parkinson's disease group (36.0%), second-highest in the late-onset Parkinson's disease group (22.9%), and lowest in the control group (18.9%).
However, except for a haplotype in six families (PARK3), no study has successfully mapped a gene or described mutations that contribute to the common late-onset Parkinson's disease.
In the present study, the clinical characteristics of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with Ala53Thralpha-synuclein mutation (alpha-synPD) were compared with fPD patients without any known mutation.
These results suggest that the dopamine D3 receptor participates in both dyskinesia and the therapeutic action of levodopa and that partial agonists may normalize dopamine D3 receptor function and correct side-effects of levodopa therapy in PD patients.
The involvement of CTGF in the pathogenesis of peritoneal membrane fibrosis in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients has not been investigated, and so the aim of this study was to ascertain whether CTGF is produced in the peritoneal cavity of PD patients and to investigate its regulation by cytokines.
We studied polymorphisms in the genes for monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and CC chemokine receptor (CCR)-2 in 171 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and 340 controls.
The cloning and characterization of the common fragile site (CFS) FRA6E (6q26) identified Parkin, the gene involved in the pathogenesis of many cases of juvenile, early-onset and, rarely, late-onset Parkinson's disease, as the third large gene to be localized within a large CFS.