Further evidence that α-synuclein gene dosage mutations are rare
In this simple paper, the authors screened for SNCA gene dosage mutations in a cohort of 190 unrelated PD patients who presented with a positive family history. No mutations were identified, consistent with previous data (Johnson et al., 2004). While this shows that SNCA multiplication mutation is a rare cause of Parkinson disease, the authors argue that this does not preclude a role for α-synuclein expression and clearance in the pathogenesis of Parkinson disease. The authors briefly discuss the growing evidence that α-synuclein load is a factor in the etiology of PD.

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