ABSENCE OF MUTATIONS IN THE CODING REGION OF THE ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN GENEIN PATHOLOGICALLY PROVEN PARKINSONS-DISEASE

A missense mutation of the alpha-synuclein gene has been associated wi th parkinsonism in a large Italian kindred. Recently, alpha-synuclein was also identified in Lewy bodies. Using reverse transcribed-polymera se chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, we sequenced the entire coding r egion of the alpha-synuclein gene using brain tissue from 24 pathologi cally proven Parkinson's disease cases. No mutations were found in any of the patients, suggesting that a mutation at the coding region of t he alpha-synuclein gene is unlikely to be responsible for nigrostriata l degeneration in typical sporadic Parkinson's disease.