Genetic Variants for Parkinson's Disease Are More Common Than Previously Thought

jamie talanA multicenter study with data on more than 8,000 people with Parkinson's disease (PD) found that seven known genetic mutations account for 13 percent of the cases, according to findings in the Aug. 1 issue of Brain.Moreover, if patients had factors known to increase risk, that number increased to 18 percent.The common variants linked to PD and tested by PD GENEration include LRRK2, GBA1, SNCA, PINK1, PARK7, PRKN, and VPS35.Normally, it is thought that 5 to 10 percent of people who develop PD have a genetic variant that explains their disease.But that number is somewhat artificial since so few people receive clinicial testing for genetic mutations in PD, said senior author