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.

Prevalence of haemochromatosis gene mutations in Parkinson's disease.

Aamodt AH, Stovner LJ, Thorstensen K, Lydersen S, White LR, Aasly JO

Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. anne.hege.aamodt@ntnu.no

The aim of this study was to investigate a possible association between haemochromatosis (HFE) gene mutations and the prevalence of Parkinson's disease. The HFE gene encodes a protein that modulates iron absorption. Several studies have documented increased iron levels in the basal ganglia in patients with Parkinson's disease. In a study on patients with concurrent hereditary haemochromatosis and Parkinson's disease, abnormal deposition of iron in the basal ganglia was suggested as an inductor of Parkinson's disease. In this study, genotype frequencies of the HFE mutations C282Y, H63D and S65C were estimated in 388 patients with Parkinson's disease and compared with frequencies found in comparable studies. No significant differences were found in frequencies between the patients and comparable populations. This study does not indicate increased susceptibility to Parkinson's disease in HFE gene mutation carriers in Norway.

Published 19 February 2007 in J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 78(3): 315-7.
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