Genetic factors in Parkinson’s disease varying by ethnicity

Many genome-wide analyses of the genetics of PD have been undertaken to date. However, these analyses are typically conducted using patients from the same ethnic group, for example patients of European ancestry, or patients of East Asian ancestry.^6-8 Furthermore, the methodology of a genome-wide analysis will vary depending on the ethnic group being studied, because of differences within the genetics of individuals from different ancestry (for example, there is more genetic variation within individuals of African origin than within some other groups, and so the genome-wide study will be tailored to this).¹ There is a danger, therefore, that the results of a genetic analysis conducted in patients of a particular ethnic background cannot be applied to patients of different ethnicity.¹

References:
1.Foo JN, Liu JJ, Tan EK. Whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing in neurological diseases. Nat Rev Neurol 2012; 8: 508–517.

2.Lim SY, Tan AH, Ahmad-Annuar A, et al. Parkinson’s disease in the Western Pacific region. Lancet Neurol 2019; 18 (9): 865–879.

3.Foo JN, Chew EGY, Chung SJ, et al. Identification of risk loci for Parkinson disease in Asians and comparison of risk between Asians and Europeans: a genome-wide association study. JAMA Neurol 2020; 77 (6): 746–754.

4.Loesch DP, Horimoto ARVR, Heilbron K, et al.; 23andMe Research Team; Cannon P, Thornton TA, O’Connor TD, Mata IF; Latin American Research Consortium on the Genetics of Parkinson’s Disease (LARGE-PD). Characterizing the genetic architecture of Parkinson’s disease in Latinos. Ann Neurol 2021; 90 (3): 353–365.

5.Khani M, Cerquera-Cleves C, Kekenadze M, et al. Towards a global view of Parkinson’s disease genetics. Ann Neurol 2024; 95 (5): 831–842.

6.Kim JJ, Vitale D, Otani DV, et al.; 23andMe Research Team; Iwaki H, Lake J, Solsberg CW, Leonard H, Makarious MB, Tan EK, Singleton AB, Bandres-Ciga S, Noyce AJ; Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2); Blauwendraat C, Nalls MA, Foo JN, Mata I. Multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of Parkinson’s disease. Nat Genet 2024; 56 (1): 27–36.

7.Foo JN, Tan LC, Irwan ID, et al. Genome-wide association study of Parkinson’s disease in East Asians. Hum Mol Genetics 2017; 26 (1): 226–232.

8.Simón-Sánchez J, Schulte C, Bras JM, et al. Genome-wide association study reveals genetic risk underlying Parkinson’s disease. Nat Genet 2009; 41 (12): 1308–1312.