title: Association of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism with Parkinson's disease in a Greek population.
abstract: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) enhances survival of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, whereas in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), the expression of BDNF mRNA is decreased, thus making BDNF a candidate gene for PD susceptibility. The association between BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and PD has been evaluated in several studies with controversial results. Thus, we determined the distribution of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in 184 Greek patients with sporadic PD and 113 control participants using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism, and explored the association of the polymorphism with certain clinical parameters of the disease. Our results do not support a major role for the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in PD in the Greek population.
authors: Third Department of Neurology, G. Papanikolaou Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors: Charalambos
authors: C
authors: Karakasis
authors: Kallirhoe
authors: K
authors: Kalinderi
authors: Zoe
authors: Z
authors: Katsarou
authors: Liana
authors: L
authors: Fidani
authors: Sevasti
authors: S
authors: Bostantjopoulou
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor