Parkinson's Disease Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Parkinson's Disease, including details on symptoms, treatment, genetics, medication.

Analysis of the PINK1 gene in a large cohort of cases with Parkinson disease.

Rogaeva E, Johnson J, Lang AE, Gulick C, Gwinn-Hardy K, Kawarai T, Sato C, Morgan A, Werner J, Nussbaum R, Petit A, Okun MS, McInerney A, Mandel R, Groen JL, Fernandez HH, Postuma R, Foote KD, Salehi-Rad S, Liang Y, Reimsnider S, Tandon A, Hardy J, St George-Hyslop P, Singleton AB

Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases and Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Mutations in the PTEN-induced kinase (PINK1) gene located within the PARK6 locus on chromosome 1p35-p36 have recently been identified in patients with recessive early-onset Parkinson disease. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of PINK1 mutations within a series of early- and late-onset Parkinson disease patients living in North America. DESIGN: All coding exons of the PINK1 gene were sequenced in a series of 289 Parkinson disease patients and 80 neurologically normal control subjects; the mutation frequencies were evaluated in additional controls (100 white and 50 Filipino subjects). RESULTS: We identified 27 variants, including the first reported compound heterozygous mutation (Glu240Lys and Leu489Pro) and a homozygous Leu347Pro mutation in 2 unrelated young-onset Parkinson disease patients. CONCLUSION: Autosomal recessive mutations in PINK1 are a rare cause of young-onset Parkinson disease.

Published 14 December 2004 in Arch Neurol, 61(12): 1898-904.
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