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Background: The formation of α-synuclein aggregates may be a critical event in the pathogenesis of multiple system atrophy (MSA). However, the role of this gene in the aetiology of MSA is unknown and untested. Method: The linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure of the α-synuclein gene was established and LD patterns were used to identify a set of tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that represent 95% of the haplotype diversity across the entire gene. The effect of polymorphisms on the pathological expression of MSA in pathologically confirmed cases was also evaluated. Results and conclusion: In 253 Gilman probable or definite MSA patients, 457 possible, probable, and definite MSA cases and 1472 controls, a frequency difference for the individual tagging SNPs or tag-defined haplotypes was not detected. No effect was observed of polymorphisms on the pathological expression of MSA in pathologically confirmed cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate whether the tau H1 haplotype is a genetic risk factor in Parkinson's disease and to report a meta-analysis on all previously published dataMethods: and results: In a sample of 580 patients with Parkinson's disease and 513 controls there was an increased risk of Parkinson's disease for both the tau H1 haplotype (pConclusions: Homozygosity for the tau H1 is associated with an increased risk of Parkinson's disease. This adds to the growing body of evidence that common genetic variation contributes to the pathogenesis of this disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]