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I interpreted it that there is a gene variant that is implicated in causing 
PD.  I added B6 to my supplements, having read elsewhere it was a good B 
vitamin.

Ray
Rayilyn Brown
Past Director AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation


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From: "Nic Marais" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 3:35 AM
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Vitamin B6 Gene Implicated in PD

> Can someone translate this for me please... Does B6 help to cause PD,
> or does it help to prevent it?
>
> (Dementia kicking in?)
>
>
> Nic 57/16
>
> On 18 February 2010 11:52, mschild <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> A variant in a gene that converts vitamin B6 to a cofactor for dopamine
>> synthesis is implicated in some cases of Parkinson's disease, according 
>> to a
>> new study.
>>
>> The study used gene expression profiling (i.e., determining changes in
>> messenger RNA production) to identify candidate genes, and then 
>> determined
>> whether variants in those genes were associated with disease, a process 
>> called
>> "genomic convergence." The value of such a study design is that it can 
>> detect
>> associations weaker than those currently found through genome-wide 
>> association
>> studies.
>>
>> The authors performed whole-genome expression profiling in 100 individual
>> substantia nigra cells from a single individual from a brain bank PD 
>> case.
>> After Bonferroni correction and confirmation by real-time expression 
>> analysis,
>> several genes were identified as significantly altered between PD and 
>> control
>> cells. Variants of one, PDXK (pyridoxal kinase), were found to be 
>> associated
>> with PD in three European cohorts.
>>
>> "PDXK catalyzes the conversion of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, pyridoxal, and
>> pyridoxamine) to pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)," the authors state. PLP is
>> thought to be a cofactor in multiple reactions, including the 
>> biosynthesis of
>> dopamine by dopa decarboxylase.
>>
>> "Upregulation of PDXK in dopaminergic neurons may be explained by an 
>> adaptive
>> mechanism to increase dopamine metabolism in the remaining funcitonal
>> dopaminergic neurons of the SNc or to levodopa therapy." The authors 
>> speculate
>> that the polymorphism associated with PD may influence enzyme amount or
>> activity. Dietary vitamin B6 has previously been linked to a reduced risk 
>> of
>> PD in smokers.
>>
>> Single-cell expression profiling ofdopaminergic neurons combined with
>> association analysis identifies pyridoxal kinase as Parkinson's disease 
>> gene
>> M Elstner, CM Morris, K Heim, et al.
>> Ann Neurol 2009;66:792-798
>>
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