Gene-to-gene Interaction Analysis of Levodopa-induced Dyskinesia

Study Rationale:                
Long-term treatment for Parkinson’s with levodopa can cause dyskinesia or involuntary movements. Other drugs like anti-dopaminergics can cause similar abnormal movements and, in some cases, a specific combination of small gene variations is able to predict the appearance of these side effects.

Hypothesis:
Here we hypothesize that, like in the case of anti-dopaminergic drugs, a combination of specific gene variations could predict the appearance of dyskinesia.

Study Design:
We will use DNA extracted from the blood of 800 PD patients, and will investigate which gene variant combination is shared by PD who develop dyskinesia. We will also check whether there is any combination that could be indicative of a major risk of PD.

Impact on Diagnosis/Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease:               
If the results are positive, we will be able to know whether a PD patient is more or less susceptible to suffer dyskinesia in response to treatment and treat him/her accordingly.

Next Steps for Development:
Our hope is to predict the susceptibility to levodopa-induced dyskinesia with a simple blood test and personalize PD treatment.