Friday, February 27, 2009

Genetics/Heredity in Parkinson's disease

Posted on February 27th, 2009 by heroteo
There are two categories of Gene cause the disease linked to parkinson disease,
A causal gene alone, without the influence of other genes or environmental factors, guarantees that a person who inherits it will develop PD. This kind of genetic Parkinson’s is very rare, accounting for perhaps one to two percent of people with PD.
The second category of genes, “associated genes,” do not cause Parkinson’s on their own, but increase the risk of developing it. A person may have these genes and never develop PD, while people who do not have these genes can still end up being diagnosed with Parkinson’s. However, those who have the gene are more likely to develop PD then those without it. In order for associated genes to trigger PD, they probably need to be combined with other genes or environmental factors.
Scientists discovered both kinds of genes by studying families in which many members have developed Parkinson’s. It may be helpful to look at some of these families and how they have been affected by genetics.

In my family I have three parkinson's brothers.
They are at different stages of parkinson's diseases.
Question:

What category of gene are they? casual or associated gene

Kindly advise

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