Parkinson's disease (PD) is a movement disorder caused by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain. The molecular basis of this neural death is unknown, but genetic predisposition and environmental factors may cause the disease. Sequence variations in N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) gene leading to slow acetylation process have been associated with PD, but results are contradictory.
Drug Research and Medical Biotechnology, Fraunhofer Institute of Toxicology and Experimental Medicine, Nikolai-Fuchs-Strasse 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany. borlak@item.fraunhofer.de
