How big a role does genetics play in the development of Parkinson’s disease? Elizabeth Tracey reports

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The aberrant protein alpha synuclein is known to be involved in the development of Parkinson’s disease, but how and why this abnormal form develops remains an area of active investigation. Liana Rosenthal, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins, examines the role of genetics.

Rosenthal: What causes this bad alpha synuclein in the first place? There are a long list of genetic factors. You can have genetic factors that are low risk, medium risk, high risk or very high risk. If we can identify the genes that increase the risk of Parkinson's disease then maybe we can develop therapies that will stop the alpha synuclein. Actually only about 15 to 20% of patients seem to be testing positive for all of these genetic risk factors.   :30

Even though it’s not the majority of cases it’s still important to characterize the role of genetics in Parkinson’s disease, Rosenthal says, because it may point the way to understanding what processes are underway even in the so-called sporadic cases, where genetics aren’t implicated. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.