PET scans showing dopamine activity in a normal brain and a Parkinson’s patient’s before and after treatment with a therapeutic implant.
More than a million Americans have Parkinson’s disease, and another 50,000 are diagnosed each year. Scientists know that many of the characteristic symptoms of Parkinson’s — tremors, rigid muscles and movement problems — can [...]

Tags: BST1, LRRK2, MAPT, PARK16, Parkinson's Disease, SNCA

“But we always go there!”
And so begins another Friday night.  When it comes to choosing where to go to dinner, my husband likes to stick with the tried and true. I like trying out new places.
A new study suggests that the roots of this conflict could spring partly from our genes. It suggests that a [...]

Tags: basal ganglia, COMT, DARPP-32, dopamine, drd2, exploration, learning, Nature Neuroscience, Parkinson's Disease, prefrontal cortex

We’ve set out to build the world’s largest online PD genetics community, and we’re thrilled to report that more than 2,000 people have enrolled since the initiative was launched last month. Owing to tremendous support from The Parkinson’s Institute and Clinical Center and The Michael J. Fox Foundation, their networks of patients have responded overwhelmingly. Assembling [...]

Tags: Michael J. Fox Foundation, Parkinson's, Parkinson's community, Parkinson's Disease, The Parkinson's Institute

PET scans showing dopamine activity in a normal brain and a Parkinson’s patient’s before and after treatment with a therapeutic implant.
More than a million Americans have Parkinson’s disease, and another 50,000 are diagnosed each year. Scientists know that many of the characteristic symptoms of Parkinson’s — tremors, rigid muscles and movement problems — can [...]

Tags: communities, DJ1, G2019S, G2385R, LRRK2, mutation, PARK1, PARK2, PARK4, PARK6, PARK7, Parkinson's Disease, PINK1

By 23andMe Co-Founders Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki
We started 23andMe with a simple, yet expansive, vision: to take DNA into the mainstream.  In order to demystify genetics, we thought the best approach was to give individuals access to their genomes and help them gain personalized insight into their own unique code.  This was our premise [...]

Tags: 23andWe, Anne Wojcicki, Linda Avey, Parkinson's, Parkinson's Disease, Research 2.0

“It isn’t dramatic.  It’s a disease of inches.”
This is how Dave Iverson describes Parkinson’s disease, the subject of his Frontline report “My father, My Brother, and Me.” The documentary uses his and his family’s experience with the disease as the backdrop for an exploration of current research aimed at understanding what causes Parkinson’s and what [...]

Tags: Frontline, Iverson, LRRK2, Parkinson's Disease

Already well-known for expanding technological frontiers, Google co-founder Sergey Brin is now pushing the boundaries of personal genomics with a remarkable post on his new personal blog, TOO.
In the post, Brin shares information from his 23andMe account that indicates he is at substantially increased risk for Parkinson’s Disease. Brin’s mother, who has already been diagnosed [...]

Tags: G2019S, LRRK2, Parkinson's Disease, Sergey Brin