Genetic Link Found Between Parkinson’s and Immune System

A study conducted by the Neuro Genetics Research Consortium, an international team of researchers, has discovered new evidence that Parkinson’s disease may have an infectious or autoimmune origin. The study, which involved more than 2,000 Parkinson’s disease patients and 2,000 healthy volunteers from clinics in Oregon, Washington, New York and Georgia, assessed clinical, genetic and environmental factors that might contribute to the development and progression of Parkinson’s disease and its complications. Researchers found a new association between Parkinson’s and the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region, which contains a large number of genes related to immune system function in humans. HLA genes are essential for recognizing foreign invaders from the body’s own tissues. It is hoped that pursuing the connection between Parkinson’s disease and inflammation, especially in the context of variable genetic makeup, may lead to better, more selective drugs for treating Parkinson’s disease. The study appears online in Nature Genetics.