Deciphering the genetic basis of Parkinson’s has become a key issue both in understanding the disease itself and in discovering effective therapies. Now, a new study led by scientists from the National Institutes of Health (USA) has located six new risk factors of a genetic nature in Parkinson’s disease .
To do this, the researchers analyzed data from more than 18,000 patients , combining them with the Whole Genome Association Study (GWAS), allowing the discovery of common variants or very subtle differences in the genetic codes of large groups of people. Thanks to this, it was possible to identify more than two dozen genetic risk factors involved in Parkinson’s disease; what stands out is that six of them had not been located previously.
The study, which has been published in the journal Nature Genetics , explains that the more genetic risk variants a person has, the greater the risk (up to three times higher) for the disease to develop.
“The study brought together a large international group of researchers from public and private institutions who were interested in sharing data to accelerate the discovery of genetic risk factors for Parkinson’s disease. The advantage of this collaborative approach is highlighted in identifying gene pathways and networks that can significantly increase our understanding of Parkinson’s disease, ”says study co-author Margaret Sutherland.
