Abstract
The past 10 years has seen a shift in our etiological concepts of Parkinson's disease, moving from a nearly exclusively environmentally mediated disease towards a complex disorder with important genetic contributors. The identification of responsible mutations in certain genes, particularly alpha-synuclein, Parkin, PINK1, DJ-1 and LRRK2, has increased our understanding of the clinical and pathological changes underlying Parkinson's disease, with implications for patient diagnosis, management and future research. This review will outline the specific genetic advances, discuss their implications for clinical practice and hint at future directions for research into this common and disabling disease.
MeSH terms
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Brain / metabolism*
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Clinical Trials as Topic / trends
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Genes, Dominant / genetics
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Genes, Recessive / genetics
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Genetic Predisposition to Disease / genetics
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Genetic Predisposition to Disease / prevention & control
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Genetic Therapy / methods
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Genetic Therapy / trends
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Humans
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Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / genetics*
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Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2
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Oncogene Proteins / genetics*
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Parkinson Disease / genetics*
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Parkinson Disease / metabolism
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Parkinson Disease / therapy
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Protein Deglycase DJ-1
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Protein Kinases / genetics*
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Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics*
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Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / genetics*
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alpha-Synuclein / genetics*
Substances
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Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
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Oncogene Proteins
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alpha-Synuclein
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Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases
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parkin protein
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Protein Kinases
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LRRK2 protein, human
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Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2
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PTEN-induced putative kinase
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Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
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PARK7 protein, human
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Protein Deglycase DJ-1