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1: Neurology. 2005 Dec 13;65(11):1823-5.Click here to read Links

BDNF genetic variants are associated with onset age of familial Parkinson disease: GenePD Study.

Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, MA, USA.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) stimulates neuronal growth and protects nigral dopamine neurons in animal models of Parkinson disease (PD). Therefore, BDNF is a candidate gene for PD. The authors investigated five single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 597 cases of familial PD. Homozygosity for the rare allele of the functional BDNF G196A (Val66Met) variant was associated with a 5.3-year older onset age (p = 0.0001). These findings suggest that BDNF may influence PD onset age.

PMID: 16344533 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]