Scientists have found five genes that link to Parkinson’s disease. The hope is that this discovery will lead to new treatments for this disease, which currently has no cure, and also to an earlier diagnosis of the disease. People who have someone in their family tree who has Parkinson’s disease have a somewhat higher risk of developing the disease themselves, than do people who have no relatives who suffer from this disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative neurological disease. In healthy brains, nerve cells produce dopamine. Dopamine helps the nerves transmit signals that allow a person to move smoothly. Lack of dopamine impairs the connection between the brain and the muscles. Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include tremors, or shaking, that occurs in a person’s arms, legs, feet, or face. The limbs and body can become rigid, or stiff. Movement can be slowed, or “frozen”, and there often is a lack of coordination, and impaired balance.
In general, a person has a 2.5 percent chance of developing Parkinson’s disease. However, if Parkinson’s disease runs in your family, then your risk of developing it increases to 6 percent. The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has estimated that about half a million American’s have Parkinson’s disease.
Researchers at the University College London took a look at around eight million possible genetic mutations, and found five genes that that are associated with Parkinson’s disease. This is in addition to the six genes that were identified in previous studies. This study compared the genes from over 12,000 Parkinson’s patients, with more than 21,000 genes from people that didn’t have the disease. From this, they were able to identify the five previously unrecognized gene mutations that seem to be connected with Parkinson’s disease.
The hope is that these discoveries will lead to earlier diagnoses of people who have the disease, as well as to new treatments for the disease. Perhaps drugs can be developed that would be able to target these specific genetic mutations. It is worth noting that some believe that there are also environmental factors that have an effect on Parkinson’s disease.
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