From Glucocerebrosidase to Autophagy and Mitophagy in Parkinson’s Disease
Over the past two decades, researchers have documented numerous links between Parkinson’s disease and Gaucher disease. Rare patients with Gaucher disease show parkinsonian symptoms1 and many more have family members with Parkinson’s disease.2 Lewy bodies—large aggregates of alpha synuclein protein characteristic of Parkinson’s disease—have been identified in the brains of Gaucher patients,3 and approximately 5-10% of those with sporadic Parkinson’s disease show mutations in the glucocerebrosidase gene, the cause of Gaucher disease.4,5