GENETIC screening could soon help identify people who have inherited a mutation linked to Parkinson鈥檚 disease.
In three studies published online in The Lancet this week, researchers show that a single mutation in one gene is to blame for 5 per cent of cases of Parkinson鈥檚 disease in families with a history of the disease. The same mutation is also responsible for 2 per cent of cases in families with no Parkinson鈥檚 history.
That makes the mutation, in a recently discovered gene called LRRK2, the most common yet linked to Parkinson鈥檚. Other mutations in the same gene may also predispose people to Parkinson鈥檚.
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