Skip to main content

Spotlight on Leucin-Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2) G2019S Mutation and Parkinson's Disease in Egyptians | Chapter 06 | New Insights into Disease and Pathogen Research Vol. 1

Aim: Many causative genes and susceptibility loci have been identified to be associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) in different ethnic populations. One of these genes is the Leucin-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene. The G2019S substitution in that gene is the most common mutation identified to co-segregates with PD. One of the significant mutations in LRRK2 linked to PD is the G2019S which has been found associated with neuronal impairment and loss of dopaminergic neurons. Furthermore, new monoclonal antibody assay has been developed to quantify LRRK2 G2019S kinase pathway activity in Parkinson’s patients. This type of mutation has been investigated in the North part of Egypt (Alexandria and nearby region), which showed an incidence of 9.7% of heterozygous mutation in LRRK2 G2019S in a sample of Egyptians with sporadic PD. We investigated the same mutation in 69 Egyptian patients with sporadic PD and 96 ethnically matched controls who all were inhabitants of Upper Egypt to find out if it could be a susceptibility gene for PD among Egyptians.

Place and Duration of Study: Departments of pharmacology, neurology, and clinical pathology, Assiut University (Egypt) and Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany between June 2010 and September 2011.

Methodology: Sixty nine patients with PD of sporadic type and ninety six controls were included in the study and all were inhabitants of Assiut Governorate and nearby region in Upper Egypt. PCR-genotyping analysis for the point mutation G2019S in the exon 41 was performed and presence or absence of mutation was confirmed by direct sequencing of the probands identified of the DNA.

Results: Genotyping analysis and sequencing of DNA showed only one patient who was carrier to the mutation G2019S (1/69; incidence: 1.45%) and it was of heterozygous style. The rest of subjects (patients and control) were not carrying the mutation. This rarity of this kind of mutation among the Egyptian sample studied suggests that it may be a rare cause of PD in Upper Egypt region. However, if it is observed, it may have a trend of heterozygosity genotyping style as previously defined in the Egyptians living in the North region of Egypt.

Conclusion: The very low incidence of G2019S mutation in Egyptians living in Upper Egypt compared to Egyptians inhabitants in North Egypt suggests a prospective multicenter study on a large number of Egyptians with Parkinson’s disease to reach a real incidence of that mutation and if it has (or not) a correlation to causation and course of Parkinson’s disease among Egyptians. Also, genetic assessment of other points of mutations other than G2019S on LRRK2 is required among Egyptians with PD.

Author(s) Details

Professor Ehab S. EL Desoky  M.D, PhD
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University Hospital, Assiut, Egypt.

Dr. Thomas Gasser
Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Greening Regional Airports: A Vision for Carbon Neutral Infrastructure | Chapter 12 | Contemporary Perspective on Science, Technology and Research Vol. 3

 This study provides an overview of the energy demand of a regional airport, divided into individual time horizons. The electrification of aircraft systems raises the question of whether airports will be among the largest electricity consumers in our infrastructure in the future. Sustainability and especially emission reductions are significant challenges for airports that are currently being addressed. The Clean Sky 2 project GENESIS addresses the environmental sustainability of hybrid-electric 50-passenger aircraft systems in a life cycle perspective to support the development of a technology roadmap for the transition to sustainable and competitive electric aircraft systems. This article originates from the GENESIS research and describes various options for ground power supply at a regional airport. Potential solutions for airport infrastructure with a short (2030), medium (2040), and long (2050) time horizon are proposed. In addition to the environmental and conservation benefi...

Risk Factors for Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders. A Review of the Literature | Chapter 8 | New Visions in Medicine and Medical Science Vol. 4

  Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the risk factors for the development of postpartum psychiatric disorders through international literature. Materials and Methods: Throughout many articles in PubMed, Google scholar and PsycInfo, a great amount of recent data was gathered to identify the disorders that are most common as well as their risk factors. Results: After childbirth, most commonly women experience postpartum depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and postpartum psychosis. All the disorders have many similar risk-factors with the main one being preexisting psychiatric disorder and many similar symptoms too. Conclusions: Women after childbirth are at risk of experience many psychiatric disorders, such as postpartum distress, postpartum post traumatic stress disorder and even more rarely postpartum psychosis. It is important to provide comprehensive support to ensure the well-being of both the mother and the infant and this will b...

Alkali Element Modification of Glucose Molecules as a Method to Dissolve Cancer Cells | Chapter 12 | New Visions in Medicine and Medical Science Vol. 4

  The present study highlights about alkali element modification of glucose molecules as a method to dissolve cancer cells. The central regulation of the mechanisms governing cell proliferation has little effect on cancer cells. Cancer cells are entirely independent of the central command and divide and proliferate on their own, making it challenging to activate their response mechanism. Precisely, this is the reason why they are at risk to the health of humans and/or any biological entities. Instead of trying to reconnect the central command of the growth control mechanism to cancer cells that are already out of the range, we present a method of using the cancer cell’s own irresponsive and uncontrolled growth mechanism to their disadvantage and destroy the cancer cells. We found that this is achievable in an atomic/molecular level study of the glucose molecule, which is the primary food source used for growth and energy generation by all cells in the body, including the cancer cel...