Frontiers in Neurology (Jan 2021)

Association Between BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism and Mild Behavioral Impairment in Patients With Parkinson's Disease

  • Mehrafarin Ramezani,
  • Jennifer A. Ruskey,
  • Jennifer A. Ruskey,
  • Kristina Martens,
  • Mekale Kibreab,
  • Zainul Javer,
  • Iris Kathol,
  • Tracy Hammer,
  • Jenelle Cheetham,
  • Etienne Leveille,
  • Davide Martino,
  • Justyna R. Sarna,
  • Ziv Gan-Or,
  • Ziv Gan-Or,
  • Ziv Gan-Or,
  • Gerald Pfeffer,
  • Zahinoor Ismail,
  • Oury Monchi,
  • Oury Monchi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2020.587992
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

Read online

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and have demonstrated an association with the p. Val66Met, a polymorphism in the BDNF gene. Mild behavioral impairment (MBI) is a validated syndrome describing emergent and persistent NPS in older adults as a marker of potential cognitive decline and dementia. This study investigated if PD patients with the Met allele were more likely to have MBI and whether they had impairments in specific domains of MBI using the Mild Behavioral Impairment Checklist (MBI-C) as the MBI ascertainment tool. One hundred forty-six PD patients were screened for neuropsychiatric and cognitive impairments with the MBI-C and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). All participants were genotyped for the BDNF p.Val66Met single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) using TaqMan Genotyping Assay. Statistical analysis was performed using multiple linear and logistic regression models. Met carriers had a 2 times higher likelihood of being MBI positive (MBI-C total score ≥8) than Val carriers. Met carriers had significantly higher MBI-C total scores and significantly greater impairments in the mood/anxiety and the psychotic domains of MBI-C compared to Val carriers. These findings indicate that the BDNF Met allele is associated with a higher neuropsychiatric burden in PD.

Keywords