Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is involved in the metabolism and detoxification of insecticides and pesticides. Two polymorphisms within the gene affect the enzyme activity. One is a methionine to leucine change at position 54 (M54L) and the other is a glutamine to arginine variant at position 192 (Q192R). There are contrasting reports assessing the role of these variants in Parkinson's disease (PD). We performed a case--control association study in order to elucidate the possible contribution of variability within PON1 to the risk of sporadic PD in a Finnish population. There was no statistically significant association of the allele, genotype or haplotype distribution with PD (all P values > 0.75). Our results suggest that the M54L and Q192R polymorphisms are not major risk factors for PD in the Finnish population.
Molecular Genetics Section, Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institutes of Health, Building 10, Room 6C103, MSC 1589, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. clarimon@mail.nih.gov
