Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria (Aug 2013)

Nullity of GSTT1/GSTM1 related to pesticides is associated with Parkinson's disease

  • Marcela Augusta de Souza Pinhel,
  • Caroline Leiko Sado,
  • Gabriela dos Santos Longo,
  • Michele Lima Gregorio,
  • Gisele Sousa Amorim,
  • Greiciane Maria da Silva Florim,
  • Camila Montoro Mazeti,
  • Denise Poltronieri Martins,
  • Fabio de Nazare Oliveira,
  • Marcelo Arruda Nakazone,
  • Waldir Antonio Tognola,
  • Doroteia Rossi Silva Souza

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/0004-282X20130076
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 71, no. 8
pp. 527 – 532

Abstract

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Genetic and environmental factors affect the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Genetic variants of the enzyme glutathione S-transferases (GST) may be related to the disease. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of genetic variants of GST (GSTT1/GSTM1) and their association with the exposure to environmental toxins in PD patients. We studied 254 patients with PD and 169 controls. The GSTM1/GSTT1 variants were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction. We applied the Fisher's exact test and the χ2 test for statistical analysis (p<0.05). The present and absence for GSTT1 and GSTM1 were similar in patients and controls. The null for GSTT1 and GSTM1 (0/0) and exposure to pesticides prevailed in patients (18%) compared to controls (13%, p=0.014). This study suggests the association between PD and previous exposure to pesticides, whose effect may be enhanced in combination with null for GSTT1/GSTM1.

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