Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms and the risk of Parkinson's disease in Taiwan.

A critical role of mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). The association of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms 9055G/A, 10398G/A and 13708G/A with PD has been controversial. In this study we analyzed whether these three genetic polymorphisms are associated with PD in a cohort of 416 PD cases and 372 ethnically matched controls. The allele frequency distribution of any of these three analyzed polymorphisms was not significantly different between the cases and the controls. None of the six haplotypes derived influences risk of PD. Notably, after stratification by age, individuals over 70 years of age carrying the haplotype 9055G-10398A-13708G demonstrated a significant decrease in risk of developing PD (OR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.24-0.80, p = 0.008). These results suggest that the mtDNA haplotype 9055G-10398A-13708G plays a role in PD susceptibility among Taiwanese people older than 70 years of age.