Haploinsufficiency of the GBA gene, leading to a reduction in glucocerebrosidase (GCase) activity, is one of the most common genetic risk factors for PD.
We investigated relationships between Parkinson's disease-specific glucocerebrosidase deficits, glucocerebrosidase-related pathways, and α-synuclein levels in brain tissue from subjects with sporadic Parkinson's disease without GBA1 mutations.
About one-third of patients with sporadic Parkinson disease (PD) and more than 40% of patients with familial PD of Ashkenazi Jewish descent likely carry the G2019S mutation in the LRRK2 gene, a mutation in the glucocerebrosidase (GBA) gene, or both.