GENETIC-POLYMORPHISM AND PARKINSONS-DISEASE IN TAIWAN - STUDY OF DEBRISOQUINE 4-HYDROXYLASE (CYP2D6)

Debrisoquine 4-hydroxylase (CYP2D6) is one of the cytochrome P450 enzy me families that catalyze the breakdown of a variety of exogenous and endogenous compounds. Previous reports have suggested that genetic pol ymorphisms of debrisoquine 4-hydroxylase are associated with susceptib ility to Parkinson's disease (PD) in Caucasians [3,38]. To determine i f CYP2D6 also confers susceptibility to PD in Chinese patients, we car ried out a study of genetic association using three polymorphic marker s of the CYP2D6 gene, 188C/T, 1934G/A (mutant B), and 4268G/C. No diff erences of allele or genotype frequencies of these three polymorphisms were detected upon comparison of primary PD patients (n=53) with norm al controls (n=94). The 1934A allele (mutant B), which accounts for th e majority of poor metabolizers in Caucasians, is extremely rare in Ch inese. Our data do not support the suggestion that the CYP2D6 gene is related to PD susceptibility in Chinese. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V .