title: The significance of GBA for Parkinson's disease.
abstract: From the first descriptions of Parkinson's disease (PD) and Gaucher's disease (GD) in the nineteenth century, it took more than 100 years to discover the link between the GBA gene and Parkinsonism. The observation that mutations in the GBA gene represent the most common genetic risk factor for PD so far only came into focus because of astute clinical observation of Gaucher patients and their families. In this review, we (i) outline how GBA was identified as a genetic risk factor for Parkinsonism, (ii) present clinical characteristics of GBA-associated Parkinsonism, (iii) discuss possible mechanisms of the underlying pathogenesis in GBA-associated Parkinsonism, and (iv) provide an outlook on potentially new areas of research and treatment that arise from this important discovery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, Kathrin.Brockmann@uni-tuebingen.de.
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brockmann
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berg
mesh_terms: D005776:Gaucher Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005962:Glucosylceramidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D005962:Glucosylceramidase