Three sisters with very-late-onset major depression and parkinsonism

Sechi, GianPietro; Antonio Cocco, Giovanni; Errigo, Alessandra; Deiana, Luca; Rosati, Giulio; Agnetti, Virgilio; Stephen Paulus, Kay; Mario Pes, Giovanni

doi:10.1016/j.parkreldis.2006.03.009

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Volume 13, Issue 2 , Pages 122-125, March 2007

Three sisters with very-late-onset major depression and parkinsonism

GianPietro Sechi
- Institute of Neurology, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +39079228362.
Giovanni Antonio Cocco
- Institute of Neurology, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
Alessandra Errigo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
Luca Deiana
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
Giulio Rosati
- Institute of Neurology, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
Virgilio Agnetti
- Institute of Neurology, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
Kay Stephen Paulus
- Institute of Neurology, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
Giovanni Mario Pes
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy

Received 6 March 2006; accepted 26 March 2006.

Abstract

Familiar Parkinson's disease has an age of onset from the second to the sixth decade, whereas Wilson's disease (WD) usually presents in the first decade of life. We studied three sisters with a form of very-late-onset major depression and parkinsonism with probable linkage to ATP7B gene. Molecular studies demonstrated a nucleotide deletion at the 5′UTR region in a single allele of ATP7B gene. They did not have a family history of WD, or markers indicative for copper deposition in peripheral tissues. We suggest that single allele mutations of ATP7B gene may confer a susceptibility for late-onset major depression and parkinsonism.

Keywords: Late-onset, Depression, Parkinsonism, ATP7B gene