Shaking the genome: new studies reveal genetic risk for Parkinson's disease

1Although mutations in some of these genes, such as SNCA (which encodes the α-synuclein protein), are rare, one mutation in LRRK2 (leucine-rich repeat kinase 2) and several mutations in GBA (glucocerebrosidase) are common in patients with Parkinson’s disease from some populations. Furthermore, owing to low penetrance, these mutations are found in cases with familial and sporadic