PD: Genetic Susceptibility Increases Pesticide Risk
Parkinson's disease, pesticides and glutathione transferase
polymorphisms
Menegon A, Board PG, Blackburn AC, Mellick GD, Le Couteur DG
Lancet 352:1344-1346 (1998)
Certain polymorphisms in the gene for glutathione transferase (GST) may
increase susceptibility to Parkinson's disease following pesticide
exposure, according to this study. GST is a protein responsible for
metabolism of pesticides and other toxins.
Within a group of 95 PD patients and 95 controls, investigators
identified 39 patients and 26 controls with a history of pesticide
exposure. They next examined genotypes of PD patients and controls for
polymorphisms in the GST gene. Among the five subgroups of GST
polymorphisms examined, allelic distribution within a particular set,
GSTP1, was significantly different between patients and controls who had
been exposed to pesticides. In particular, they found a lower proportion
of GSTP1-A alleles in patients.
The authors state "A probable explanation for the observed association
is that the polymorphisms influence the ability of GSTP1-1 to detoxify
pesticides that may have neurotoxic effects. Possession of the A allele
seems to be protective."
An editorial by Lawrence Golbe accompanies the report.
--
Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
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