Genetics & Parkinson's disease

If you have a close family member who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (commonly referred to as Parkinson disease), you may wonder if it means you’ll get Parkinson’s.

Is Parkinson’s disease genetic?

According to current research, about 10% to 15% of Parkinson’s diagnoses may be related to heredity (genetics). So most of the people who get Parkinson’s have no family history of Parkinson’s.

Dozens of genes show mutations or alterations that seem to be related to Parkinson’s. But we don’t know why those gene changes are risk factors for Parkinson’s. Most of the people who have those genes will never develop Parkinson’s.

A few ethnic groups, such as North African Arab Berbers and people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, have more genes related to Parkinson’s. Researchers don’t know why this happens.

What causes Parkinson’s disease?

We don’t know what the cause is for Parkinson’s. A combination of environmental, genetic and lifestyle factors seem to be related to Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s affects men more often than women.

We also don’t have a test that will tell you whether you have Parkinson’s. Since there are many conditions that cause similar symptoms, you need an expert who knows how to diagnose Parkinson’s. When you work with experts at Aurora, they’ll take your health history and observe your symptoms. Part of accurately diagnosing Parkinson’s includes ruling out other conditions that have similar symptoms.

Should you get tested for genes related to Parkinson’s?

Genetic testing for associated genes is available. However, most at-home tests don’t check for all the possible genes. When you consult with a genetic counselor, they can offer guidance about whether to test, what tests to use and what to do with the results.

Even if you test negative for genes related to Parkinson’s, you may still get the disease. Researchers are still looking for genes, and tests only look for the genes we already know about, not the ones that are still to be discovered. Or you could test positive for a gene and never get Parkinson’s. Researchers continue to search for the cause and better treatments for Parkinson’s.