Genome-wide association study reveals genetic risk underlying Parkinson's disease

We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 1,713 individuals of European ancestry with Parkinson's disease (PD) and 3,978 controls. After replication in 3,361 cases and 4,573 controls, we observed two strong association signals, one in the gene encoding -synuclein (SNCA; rs2736990, OR = 1.23, P = 2.24 10-16) and another at the MAPT locus (rs393152, OR = 0.77, P = 1.95 10-16). We exchanged data with colleagues performing a GWAS in Japanese PD cases. Association to PD at SNCA was replicated in the Japanese GWAS1, confirming this as a major risk locus across populations. We replicated the effect of a new locus detected in the Japanese cohort (PARK16, rs823128, OR = 0.66, P = 7.29 10-8) and provide supporting evidence that common variation around LRRK2 modulates risk for PD (rs1491923, OR = 1.14, P = 1.55 10-5). These data demonstrate an unequivocal role for common genetic variants in the etiology of typical PD and suggest population-specific genetic heterogeneity in this disease.