Beschreibung:
<jats:p>Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder causing muscular rigidity, resting tremor and bradykinesia. We conducted an association study assessing how PD risk in Italy was influenced by the serotonin transporter gene <i>(SLC6A4)</i> polymorphic region <i>5-HTTLPR</i>, consisting of an insertion/deletion (long allele-L/short allele-S) of 43 bp in the <i>SLC6A4</i> promoter region. The <i>SLC6A4</i> promoter single nucleotide polymorphism <i>rs25531</i>(A→G) was evaluated too. We collected 837 independent subjects (393 PD, 444 controls). An association between the <i>5-HTTLPR </i>polymorphism and risk of PD (S/S genotype OR [95% CI]: 1.7[1.2–2.5], p = 0.002) was found. The <i>rs25531</i> and the haplotype <i>5-HTTLPR/rs25531</i> did not associate with risk of PD. Our data indicate that the <i>5-HTTLPR</i> polymorphic element within the <i>SLC6A4</i> promoter may govern the genetic risk of PD in Italians.</jats:p>