Association of vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms with Parkinson disease

Objective Vitamin D receptor （VDR） has been proposed as a candidate gene for susceptibility to Parkinson＇s disease （PD）. This study was set to assess the association between VDR gene Apa I and Taq I polymorphisms and PD in a Chinese Han population. Methods Two hundred and eighty- five sporadic PD patients and 285 healthy controls were genotyped for the Apa I and Taq I polymorphisms in VDR gene using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism （PCR-RFLP） method. Results No significant difference was detected in genotype or allele distribution of both Apa I and Taq I polymorphisms between PD patients and controls （P~0.05）. No TT genotype for Taq I was found in the studied population. For Taq I , the distribution of genotype was significantly different between male PD patients and controls （ 2=4.187, P= 0.032, 0R：2.149, 95%CI：1.011-4.567）, and the frequency of T allele was significantly higher in male PD patients than male controls （X2= 3. 867, P=0. 036, OR= 2.064, 95%CI：0. 989-4. 307）. Conclusion VDR gene Apa I polymorphisms are not associated with sporadic Parkinson＇s disease, hut Taq I may be a risk factor for male PD. Key words: Vitamin D receptor;  Parkinson＇s disease;  Single nucleotide polymorphisms