Mihael H. Polymeropoulos, ^* Joseph J. Higgins, Lawrence I. Golbe, William G. Johnson, Susan E. Ide, Giuseppe Di Iorio, Giuseppe Sanges, Edward S. Stenroos, Lana T. Pho, Alejandro A. Schaffer, Alice M. Lazzarini, Robert L. Nussbaum, Roger C. Duvoisin

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease, affecting approximately 1 percent of the population over age 50. Recent studies have confirmed significant familial aggregation of PD and a large number of large multicase families have been documented. Genetic markers on chromosome 4q21-q23 were found to be linked to the PD phenotype in a large kindred with autosomal dominant PD, with a Z_max = 6.00 for marker D4S2380. This finding will facilitate identification of the gene and research on the pathogenesis of PD.

M. H. Polymeropoulos, S. E. Ide, A. A. Schaffer, R. L. Nussbaum, Laboratory of Genetic Disease Research, National Center for Human Genome Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1430, USA.
J. J. Higgins and L. T. Pho, Clinical Neurogenetics Unit, Medical Neurology Branch, National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1430, USA.
L. I. Golbe, W. G. Johnson, E. S. Stenroos, A. M. Lazzarini, R. C. Duvoisin, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
G. Di Iorio and G. Sanges, Istituto di Scienze Neurologiche, Facoltá di Medicina, Seconda Universitá degli Studi di Napoli, Naples, Italy.
^*   To whom correspondence should be addressed.