Is Parkinson’s disease in your genes?

Published: by Interim HealthCare in Chronic Disease, Senior Care

Studies and experiments involving genomics are making an impact on several areas of medicine, including oncology, pharmacology, rare disease and infectious illness, according to the National Genome Research Institute. New research from a team at the Center for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona provided an example of how genomics can help develop new medical approaches and deeper knowledge of conditions like Parkinson’s disease.

What is genomics?

Genomics is an emerging medical discipline that focuses on the structure, function, evolution, mapping and editing of genomes. A genome is the complete set of DNA, which includes all of the organism’s genes. Genomics scientists study the genes and their role in the production of proteins. The research helps doctors use patients’ genomic information as a part of their clinical care. It also aids in determining health outcomes and policy implications of that care. Genomics is the idea behind the Human Genome Project, a national effort to understand biology and disease for improving overall population health.

Advanced understanding of Parkinson’s

The researchers used a new approach in genomic medicine to understand alpha-synuclein, the protein linked to Parkinson’s and multiple system atrophy. As this protein accumulates, it kills cells and causes the problems in neurotransmission that lead to the symptoms of the diseases, including early onset signs such as blinking, muscle aches and pains, shaking or tremors, drooling, slow speech and problems with balance.

Computational calculations allowed them to target the experiment specifically to Parkinson’s disease and MSA. By predicting how the proteins would interact with the gene, they found two factors that are critically influential in neurodegeneration. These are now critical biomarkers for early detection of the diseases. Doctors can use these markers to indicate the presence of a disease. The Parkinson’s Foundation identified biomarkers as a critical need to accurately determine effective drugs and interventions on disease progression.

According to the CRG team, a simple blood analysis can identify these new biomarkers and help doctors determine a patient’s risk of developing Parkinson’s or MSA. More than identifying at-risk patients, the Parkinson’s Foundation explained blood tests can help monitor the treatment and progression of current neurodegenerative disease sufferers. Future research can also use these markers in clinical trials to test possible drugs and treatments.