LRRK2

Um, I think the area of learning from genetics is really coming forward.

And so GBA1 mutations and LRRK2 mutations we know are the most common, although rare, um, genetic causes of Parkinson's.

But they tell us about th-there are molecules in the brain that are dysfunctional.

Um, and if we are able to adjust that, those abnormalities, um, with, for example, pills, um, one could imagine that that might be helpful for, again, some people with Parkinson's disease.

Neuroinflammation, problems with the immune system, oxidative stress.

Yes, there are definitely genes that can lead to it, like LRRK2 and SNCA.

Okay.

So what are the conventional treatments available for Parkinson's today? And this really hasn't changed in many years, decades even.

And it's worth naming the gene itself because it's such a precise detail.

The mutation is called LRRK2, and carrying it doesn't guarantee you'll develop Parkinson's.

It just sharply raises the odds.

He's talked about it less like a private medical fact and more like a research assignment he happened to be born into.