No association between brain-derived neurotrophic factor g196a polymorphism and clinical features of parkinson's disease

Aims: To investigate association of the Val66Met polymorphism in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene with clinical features in Serbian patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: The study comprised 177 consecutive PD patients. A comprehensive set of clinical scales was applied in all patients. The controls (n = 366) were recruited among students. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs6265) were analyzed using TaqMan assays. Results: PD patients (118 males) were aged 58.9 ± 10.9 years, with a mean age at onset of 49.0 ± 11.2 years. PD patients and controls had a similar distribution of genotypes and allele frequencies. The presence of the Met allele did not influence the clinical characteristics of PD patients (age at onset, family history, gender, disease duration, form of the disease, initial symptoms, cognitive abilities, depression, anxiety, disease severity, severity of motor and prevalence of nonmotor symptoms, and development of motor complications). Conclusion: Overall, the Val66Met polymorphism did not modify the clinical features in PD patients.