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Study may help explain Parkinson's disease

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- UCLA scientists have found a gene that makes embryos male and forms the testes is also produced by the brain region targeted by Parkinson's disease.

"Men are 1.5 times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than women," said Dr. Eric Vilain, associate professor of human genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "Our findings may offer new clues to how the disorder affects men and women differently, and shed light on why men are more susceptible to the disease."

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In 1990, British researchers identified SRY as the gene that determines gender and makes embryos male. Located on the male sex chromosome, SRY manufactures a protein that's secreted by cells in the testes.

Vilain's team traced the SRY protein to a region of the brain called the substantia nigra, which deteriorates in Parkinson's disease.

"For the first time, we've discovered the brain cells that produce dopamine depend upon a sex-specific gene to function properly," Vilain said. "We've also shown SRY plays a central role not just in the male genitals, but also in regulating the brain."

The study is detailed current edition of the journal Current Biology.

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