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Researchers Identify Another Possible Parkinson's Gene By Ed Edelson - HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, Nov. 3 (HealthDayNews) -- Israeli researchers have added another gene to the list of those possibly linked to Parkinson's disease, saying their finding could one day "affect the treatment options available to patients." The gene is one that, in a mutated form, causes Gaucher's disease, a genetic condition in which lipids -- blood fats -- can't be metabolized properly. There is a high incidence of the disease among Ashkenazi Jews, who are from Eastern Europe. Researchers at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa said their study of 99 Ashkenazi Jews with Parkinson's disease found that 31 of them had mutations of the glucocerebrosidase (GBA) gene, which produces a protein that metabolizes fats. That finding adds support to the theory that Parkinson's disease, which affects one of every 100 people over age 60 and causes progressive loss of muscle control, results from faulty lipid metabolism that slowly kills nerve cells. The research appears in the Nov. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The finding "holds a lot of promise for therapy," said Dr. Mel B. Feany, an associate professor of pathology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal. "If we understand that abnormal lipids contribute to the death of cells, there are a number of therapies that can alter the composition of lipids," Feany said. Her editorial lists nine other genes that have been implicated in Parkinson's disease. What has emerged from the genetic work is a "general model" of how genetic malfunctions work on the molecular level to cause nerve cell death in people with Parkinson's, she said. Failure to metabolize lipids properly causes proteins in nerve cells to clump together abnormally in Parkinson's patients, the model says. Previously identified mutations cause protein clumping within nerve cells, while the one described by the Israeli researchers affects proteins in cell membranes, Feany said. While scientists aren't sure why Parkinson's disease develops, they believe that genes are only part of the cause. Environmental factors also are believed to cause the disease. For example, exposure to pesticides is known to increase the risk for some people, while smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee have been found to decrease the risk. But, Feany said, "We don't want to tell people to smoke to reduce their risk of Parkinson's." Still research on the genetics of the disease is "so exciting," she said. She is working with fruit flies, which are "simple organisms but do have brains" and can be manipulated to have a form of Parkinson's, Feany said. "They will eat anything you give them," she said. "We are feeding them a lot of drugs to see whether any of them can prevent the condition." It's definitely long-range work, with lots to be done before any human trial can be envisioned, Feany said. Discovery of the ideal drug that could prevent Parkinson's would raise another question: Who should get the drug? That depends on the characteristics of the drug, Feany said. "If it is not toxic, it could have a wider range of use. If it has toxicities, it would be restricted to patients who have no other option open to them." An ultimate goal is to stop the disease before it starts, she said: "There are very important research efforts under way to identify people who will develop Parkinson's before there are any symptoms." Parkinson's disease is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by damaged or dead nerve cells in the region of the brain that controls balance and coordinates muscle movement. Eventually, the brain is no longer able to direct or control muscle movement in a normal manner. People with Parkinson's disease may have trouble walking, talking or completing simple tasks that depend on coordinated muscle movements, according to U.S. health officials. More information To learn more about Parkinson's disease, visit The National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/parkinsons_disea se.htm SOURCE: Forbes, NY http://tinyurl.com/4c6v5 * * *Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> Please place this address in your address book Please purge all others Web site: Parkinsons Resources on the WWWeb http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn