PROVIDENCE – Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University say they have discovered a gene that could hold the key to new treatments for Parkinson’s disease, a progressive, often debilitating and currently incurable disorder that affects as many as 1 million Americans.
In a study published online in the American Journal of Human Genetics, the scientists said mutations in the gene known as GIGYF2 appear to be directly linked to the development of Parkinson’s in people with a family history of the disease.
The gene is one of only a handful linked to Parkinson’s and one of just two genes known to be a common contributor to the degenerative disease, which has no known cause. Less than a quarter of Parkinson’s cases are familial, but researchers believe that by understanding genes such as GIGYF2, they can understand the mechanisms behind Parkinson’s.
“These findings may ultimately help open the door to the development of new therapeutic – and possibly even preventive – strategies that target the underlying cause of Parkinson’s disease, improving the quality of life of the many people worldwide who are affected by this devastating disorder,” said senior author Dr. Robert J. Smith, director of the division of endocrinology at Rhode Island Hospital a professor at the Alpert Medical School.
Parkinson’s is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders, second only to Alzheimer’s, affecting between 1 and 2 percent of the population older than 60. The disease occurs when certain nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls muscle movement either die or become impaired.
The study, which will be published in the April 11 print issue of American Journal of Human Genetics, also involved scientists in Italy and France. It was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Hallett Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology at Rhode Island Hospital, the Parkinson Institute in Italy, and several French organizations.
Rhode Island Hospital is a private, not-for-profit hospital and is the largest teaching hospital associated with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. For more information, go to www.lifespan.org and www.brown.edu.
