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Parkinson’s genetic clue 20 August 2026 • 7 Ellul 5786 • Issue No.1485 •
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@JewishNewsUK
DNA link found in one in four Ashkenazi patients paves the way for new treatments A quarter of Ashkenazi Jews with Parkinson’s disease carry a genetic variant linked to the condition, a groundbreaking study has found, writes Annabel Sinclair. The research discovered that 26.5 percent of Ashkenazi Parkinson’s patients studied carried either a mutation capable of causing the disease or a variant associated with an increased risk of developing it. The findings could have important implications for genetic testing and future treatment, with two of the main genes involved already the focus of experimental therapies. Published in The Lancet Neurology, the research examined genetic data from almost 100,000 people across 11 ancestral groups in the largest multi-
ancestry study of Parkinson’s genetics conducted to date. Among Ashkenazi Jewish patients, 10.7 per cent carried a causal genetic variant – the highest rate found in any ancestral group in the study. The figure was driven almost entirely by a variant in the LRRK2 gene, which is known to be relatively common in the Ashkenazi Jewish population. Carrying the variant does not, however, mean someone will necessarily develop Parkinson’s. Some people with it never develop the disease, a phenomenon known as “reduced penetrance”. When the study authors also included high-risk variants, primarily involving the GBA1 gene, the proportion of Ashkenazi Jewish Parkinson’s patients carrying an influential genetic risk factor rose to 26.5 percent. Dr Lara M. Lange, the study’s first author, told Jewish News: “Our findings show that genetics play a remarkably strong role in Parkinson’s Jewish community. More than one in four Ashkenazi Jewish Parkinson’s patients in our study carry a genetic variant linked to the disease. Continued on page 6 One in four Ashkenazis carry gene
NOW THE JOKE’S ON THEM Edinburgh venue Banshee Labyrinth has accepted in court that it discriminated against Jewish comedian Philip Simon when it cancelled his solo show, Shall I Compere Thee in a Funny Way, last year due to his views on Israel. See full story, page 6