Genetic variants of alpha-synuclein are not associated with essential tremor

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Owen A. Ross, Mayo Clinic; Karen N Conneely, Emory University; Tao Wang, Emory University; Carles Vilarino-Guell, Mayo Clinic; Alexandra I. Soto-Ortolaza, Mayo Clinic; Alex Rajput, University of Saskatchewan; Zbigniew K. Wszolek, Mayo Clinic; Ryan J. Uitti, Mayo Clinic; Elan D. Louis, Columbia University; Lorraine N. Clark, Columbia University; Matthew J. Farrer, Mayo Clinic; Claudia M. Testa, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2011-12-01
• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2011 Movement Disorder Society.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mds.23909
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Movement Disorders
• ISSN: 0885-3185
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 14
• Start Page: 2552
• End Page: 2556
• Grant/Funding Information: This work is supported by a Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Center of Excellence (NINDS P50NS072187); American Parkinson’s Disease Association grant (OAR); and the family of Carl and Susan Bolch (OAR, ZKW, and RJU); NIH grants R01 NS039422 and R01 NS42859 (EDL); by The Parkinson Disease Foundation (LNC); by the Emory General Clinical Research Centers Program NIH/NCRR M01 RR00039; and PHS UL1 RR025008 from the Clinical and Translational Science Award Program, NIH/NCRR (CMT); and the Mayo Clinic Florida Research Committee Essential Tremor grant (ZKW and RJU).
• Keywords: POPULATION; synuclein; TWINS; parkinsonism; PARKINSONS-DISEASE; essential tremor; tremor; MUTATIONS; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Science & Technology; Clinical Neurology; RISK; FAMILIES; association studies in genetics; Parkinson's disease; Neurosciences & Neurology; PREVALENCE; LINGO1 RS9652490
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery; Biology, Genetics; Biology, Neuroscience

Abstract

Background: Given the overlap between Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, we examined genetic variants in α-synuclein (SNCA) as risk determinants for essential tremor. Methods: Samples from 661 essential tremor subjects and 1316 control subjects from 4 participating North American sites were included in this study. Parkinson's disease samples (n = 427) were compared against controls. Twenty variants were selected for association analysis within the SNCA locus. Individual logistic regression analyses against essential tremor diagnosis were run for each variant and then combined using meta-analysis. Results: Our results do not show a significant association between variants in the SNCA locus and risk of essential tremor, whereas the established association of SNCA variants with Parkinson's disease risk was observed. Conclusions: Whereas genetic factors are likely to play a large role in essential tremor pathogenesis, our results do not support a role for common SNCA genetic variants in risk for essential tremor.