Defining the causes of sporadic Parkinson's disease in the global Parkinson's genetics program (GP2)

The Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) will genotype over 150,000 participants from around the world, and integrate genetic and clinical data for use in large-scale analyses to dramatically expand our understanding of the genetic architecture of PD. This report details the workflow for cohort integration into the complex arm of GP2, and together with our outline of the monogenic hub in a companion paper, provides a generalizable blueprint for establishing large scale collaborative research consortia

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of Parkinson?s disease

Although over 90 independent risk variants have been identified for Parkinson’s disease using genome-wide association studies, most studies have been performed in just one population at a time. Here we performed a large-scale multi-ancestry meta-analysis of Parkinson’s disease with 49,049 cases, 18,785 proxy cases and 2,458,063 controls including individuals of European, East Asian, Latin American and African ancestry. In a meta-analysis, we identified 78 independent genome-wide significant loci, including 12 potentially novel loci (MTF2, PIK3CA, ADD1, SYBU, IRS2, USP8, PIGL, FASN, MYLK2, USP25, EP300 and PPP6R2) and fine-mapped 6 putative causal variants at 6 known PD loci. By combining our results with publicly available eQTL data, we identified 25 putative risk genes in these novel loci whose expression is associated with PD risk. This work lays the groundwork for future efforts aimed at identifying PD loci in non-European populations

Isolation of Rapidly Growing Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in Wounds Following Combat-Related Injury.

OBJECTIVES: Rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacteria (RGNTM) have yet to be described in combat-related injuries. This study investigates the epidemiology, clinical findings, treatment, and outcomes of RGNTM infections among combat casualties wounded in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2012. METHODS: Patients with RGNTM were identified from the Department of Defense Trauma Registry through the Trauma Infectious Disease Outcomes Study. Trauma history, surgical management, and clinical data were collected. Six isolates from patients requiring antimycobacterial therapy were sequenced. RESULTS: Seventeen cases were identified. Six cases, predominantly associated with Mycobacterium abscessus, required aggressive debridement and a median of 180 days of multidrug antimycobacterial therapy that included clofazimine. M. abscessus isolates expressed the erythromycin resistance methylase (erm(41)) gene for inducible macrolide resistance, yet there were no clinical treatment failures when macrolides were utilized in combination therapy. No clonal similarity between M. abscessus isolates was found. Eleven cases had positive wound cultures, but did not require antimycobacterial therapy. The median duration of time of injury to first detection of a RGNTM was 57 days. CONCLUSIONS: This represents the first report of RGNTM infections in war-wounded patients. RGNTM should be recognized as potential pathogens in grossly infected combat wounds. Surgical debridement and multidrug antimycobacterial therapy, when clinically indicated, was associated with satisfactory clinical outcomes