Genomic aspects of sporadic Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is thought to be associated with oxidative stress mechanisms, as well as with glutamate receptor abnormalities, ubiquitin-proteasome dysfunction, inflammatory and cytokine activation, dysfunction in neurotrophic factors, damage to mitochondria, cytoskeletal abnormalities, synaptic dysfunction and activation of apoptotic pathways. To investigate these hypotheses, many researchers have applied molecular biology techniques to the study of neuronal cell death in these conditions. In this article, we discuss recent findings of gene expression in PD that may elucidate the usage of specific new biomarkers for sporadic PD and point to novel drug developments.