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The article discusses the increased risk of Parkinson disease (PD) associated with glucocerebrosidase (GBA) genetic variants. It references a study by J. Mitsui et al, published in the periodical "Archives of Neurology" in 2009. The GBA variants are linked with the genetic disorder Gaucher disease. The study involved Japanese PD patients within the family groups of Gaucher disease and all of them underwent GBA resequencing.

Offers information on mutations involved in hereditary cavernous angiomas. Ways to manage the disorder; Reference to United States runner Florence Griffith Joyner and her death from suffocation during an epileptic fit caused by a cavernous angioma; How understanding the molecular basis for this condition can improve genetic counselling for affected families.

Mentions two studies reporting a strong link between idiopathic chronic pancreatitis and mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) gene. Jonathan Cohn et al from Duke Medical Center in North Carolina; Joan Braganza et al from the Manchester Royal Infirmary in the United Kingdom; Chloride transport in epithelial tissues and CFTR function impairment.