LINGO1 gene analysis in Parkinson's disease phenotypes

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET) may share some etiopathogenic factors. A genome‐wide association study has shown that LINGO1 gene variants are associated with increased risk of ET. We hypothesized that LINGO1 variants could increase susceptibility to PD. Methods: A large series of PD subjects and healthy controls were genotyped for rs9652490 and rs11856808 LINGO1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Results: We found an increased frequency of the rs11856808 T/T genotype in PD compared with controls (odds ratio = 1.46; corrected P value = 0.02). A recessive genetic model was the best fit for rs11856808 influence on PD (recessive gene action test: corrected P value = 0.01). Stratification analysis showed that rs11856808 T/T genotype frequency was higher in the tremor‐dominant PD and the classical PD (C‐PD) subgroups (recessive gene action test for the C‐PD subgroup: corrected P value = 0.004). Discussion: Our results indicate that LINGO1 variants could increase risk of PD, specifically those presenting the non‐rigid‐akinetic phenotypes, which suggests that LINGO1 may have a role in the etiology of tremor in PD at least in the Spanish population. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society