Twin study of Parkinson disease

Roger C. Duvoisin, Roswell Eldridge, Adrian Williams, John Nutt, Donald Calne

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

120 Scopus citations

Abstract

Zero concordance for Parkinson disease was found in the first 12 monozygotic twin pairs examined in an ongoing twin study. One co-twin (subject without Parkinson disease) had essential tremor, another had cerebral vascular disease, and a third was an alcoholic. Cigarette smoking appeared to be less frequent in the probands than in the co-twins (11.9 versus 16.1 pack-years). There was also evidence of premorbid personality differences between probands and co-twins dating back to late adolescence or early adult years. These preliminary findings suggest that genetic factors do not play a major role in the etiology of Parkinson disease and point to a prodromal onset of the disease as early as late adolescence or early adult life.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)77-80
Number of pages4
JournalNeurology
Volume31
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1981
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Neurology

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