Reply to Zhang et al.: The differential role of LRRK2 variants in nested leprosy phenotypes.

We thank Dr. Zhang et al. (1) for their thought-provoking comments and addition of exciting results to our recent study that identifies an overlap in the genetic control of type-1 reaction (T1R) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) (2). To put the comments by Zhang et al. into context, the purpose and design of our study is to analyze the contribution of rare variants to T1R by contrasting T1R-affected with T1R-free leprosy patients. Our study is not designed to test for common variants or the impact of genetic variants on leprosy per se susceptibility. Rather, our study deals with the role of specific genetic variants in the development of T1R among leprosy patients, and we … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: erwin.schurr{at}mcgill.ca. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1