Parkinson's disease mutation uncovered

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Three new studies pinpoint mutations in a newly discovered gene as a cause of Parkinson's disease.
After Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease - a disorder of movement - is the most common age-related neurological disorder. Now a gene mutation that could account for one case in 20 has been uncovered.

The gene involved is the newly discovered LRRK2. Mutations have been found in individuals in four families affected by Parkinson's disease. This finding, reported by researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, is an important step forward in our understanding of Parkinson's disease.

A team at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, and another in the Cincinnati Children's Hospital in the USA, also report similar findings of LRRK2 mutations. It is possible that a test for the mutations could, in the future, be used as a screen for Parkinson's disease.

Source
The Lancet online 18th January 2005