Parkinson's: An inherited genetic disease?

Published: April 23, 2008 at 4:29 PM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 23 (UPI) -- Two international studies led by the Mayo Clinic in Florida suggest Parkinson's disease is mainly caused by inherited genetic mutations.

"The picture that is emerging of Parkinson's disease is one in which genetic risk factors, passed down through the population for hundreds or thousands of years, add up to substantial susceptibility within a single individual, and, with some possible environmental influences, can result in disease," said Mayo Clinic neuroscientist Owen Ross, first author of the study..

"These types of mutations are important because the goal of this research is to be able to screen people who are most at risk because of their genetic profiles, and design therapies that interfere with the disease process," Ross said.

Dr. Kristoffer Haugarvoll, a Norwegian visiting physician at the Mayo Clinic, said: "Parkinson's disease is fascinating to study because we can now roughly trace when and where mutations occur, and how they travel through offspring and in populations. It also shows us disease that appears to be the same in the majority of patients can originate from different genetic mutations …"

The research is reported in the journal Annals of Neurology.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
Firm questions British hospital efforts (11 min)
Indianapolis tennis event likely moving (13 min)
S. Williams fined for U.S. Open outburst (18 min)
Street-corner job seekers increase (49 min)
Derek Jeter named SI Sportsman of the Year (55 min)
Royal Society celebrates 350th anniversary (57 min)
Medical tourism declines during recession
fark
Men and women respond differently to danger, brain scan shows. Especially if written by Andrew Lloyd...
Two Illinois cities have been planning for a pandemic like swine flu for years, and their efficiency...
Moller skycar nearing 'virtual flight testing', says company spokesman Duke Nukem
Illinois IRS says it has more than $3.6 million in undeliverable tax refunds. Hey, that's enough...
Guy finds large U.S. Navy flare on the beach and brings it home. Doesn't notice the "Do Not Handle"...
Pakistan soldiers fighting in Waziristan have killed 100 terrorists a week for the past six weeks....