[Hereditary Parkinson disease: report of 3 families with dominant autosomal inheritance]

We have studied three families who ancestors immigrated to North America from contiguous regions of northern Germany and southern Denmark. The pedigrees contain 77,206 and 376 individuals spanning 6, 7 and 8 generations with 7,7 and 11 affected members, respectively. Autosomal dominant inheritance pattern is present in two families and probable in the third. Typical L-dopa-responsive parkinsonism with bradykinesia, rigidity, resting tremor, and impaired postural reflexes uniformly develop in affected individuals from all three families. Further research on these three families, including genetic, pathologic and clinical examinations is planned.