Scientists published in the journal Nature Genetics provided evidence of mutations in the TMEM230 gene in Parkinson's patients, who came from all over North America and Asia. They also confirmed that this gene is mainly responsible for producing a protein that is involved in the packaging of the neurotransmitter dopamine in neurons. The loss of dopaminergic neurons is a decisive feature of Parkinson's disease.
If the findings of the study are considered together, it provides a new clue to explain why Parkinson's disease occurs in the brain. These clues may indicate future treatments for this movement disorder. Today, Parkinson's disease cannot be cured and there are few known causes.
Professor and lead researcher Dr. Teepu Siddique of the Les Turner Muscular Atrophic Lateral Sclerosis Foundation and the Herbert C. Wenske Foundation at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University said: "Previous research has linked Parkinson’s disease to Various environmental factors are connected, but the only direct cause of Parkinson’s disease is currently known to be genetic factors.” "A lot of genes have been shown to cause Parkinson's disease, but they have not been verified. And we found that this new fund mutation can be verified in the pathological and clinically confirmed cases of the disease."
About 15% of Parkinson's disease cases are thought to be caused by genetic factors, the main ones being two gene mutations called SNCA and LRRK2. Siddique said: Other genes are only related to the symptoms of tremor paralysis, which are general terms for neurological disorders with motor symptoms.
The research team of Northwestern Medical College said: The discovery that TMEM230 gene mutation can cause Parkinson's disease is the result of the cooperation of all researchers around the world for 20 years.