The α-Synuclein Gene and Parkinson Disease in a Chinese Population

Objective To study the Ala53Thr and Ala30Pro mutations of the α-synuclein gene in a large number of Chinese patients with Parkinson disease (PD) as well as controls. Methods We recruited 183 Chinese patients with sporadic PD, 17 with younger-onset PD (onset age Results None of the Chinese PD patients or controls had either the Ala53Thr (exon 4) or Ala30Pro (exon 3) mutation of the α-synuclein gene. Conclusion We failed to discover Ala53Thr or Ala30Pro mutations in a large number of Chinese patients with PD and control subjects, adding to the emerging consensus that variations in the α-synuclein gene are associated with PD in few families worldwide.