Leveraging genetic diversity to understand monogenic Parkinson's disease's landscape in AfrAbia

Parkinson's disease may be caused by a single highly deleterious and penetrant pathogenic variant in 5-10% of cases (monogenic). Research into these mutational disorders yields important pathophysiological insights. This article examines the phenotype, genotype, pathophysiology, and geographic and ethnic distribution of genetic forms of disease. Well established Parkinson's disease (PD) causal variants can follow an autosomal dominant (SNCA, LRRK2, and VPS35) and autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance (PRKN, PINK1, and DJ). Parkinson's disease is a worldwide condition, yet the AfrAbia population is understudied in this regard. No prevalence or incidence investigations have been conducted yet. Few studies on genetic risk factors for PD in AfrAbia communities have been reported which supported the notion that the prevalence and incidence rates of PD in AfrAbia are generally lower than those reported for European and North American populations. There have been only a handful of documented genetic studies of PD in AfrAbia and very limited cohort and case-control research studies on PD have been documented. In this article, we provide a summary of prior conducted research on monogenic PD in Africa and highlight data gaps and promising new research directions. We emphasize that monogenic Parkinson's disease is influenced by distinctions in ethnicity and geography, thereby reinforcing the need for global initiatives to aggregate large numbers of patients and identify novel candidate genes. The current article increases our knowledge of the genetics of Parkinson's disease (PD) and helps to further our knowledge on the genetic factors that contribute to PD, such as the lower penetrance and varying clinical expressivity of known genetic variants, particularly in AfrAbian PD patients.

Parkinson's genetics research on underrepresented AfrAbia populations: current state and future prospects

Parkinson's disease (PD), the most common motoric neurodegenerative illness, has been extensively researched to better understand its complex pathophysiology. Nearly 80% of genome-wide association studies have been conducted on persons of European ancestry, indicating a lack of diversity in human genetics. Disparate representation may result in disparities that impede the equitable adoption of personalized medicine and may also limit our knowledge of illness etiology. Even though Parkinson's disease (PD) is a global affliction, the AfrAbia population remains understudied. We conducted a dynamic and longitudinal bibliometric analysis to investigate existing studies on Parkinson's disease genetics in the AfrAbia area and identify data gaps and possible new research avenues. All PD papers concentrating on PD genetics were found using the search terms "Parkinson's Disease", "Genetics", and "Africa" in the PubMed/MEDLINE database. Only English publications published between 1992 and 2023 were chosen using filters. Original English-language research publications disclosing genetic results on Parkinson's disease in non-European Africans were examined for inclusion. Two sets of independent reviewers discovered and extracted pertinent data. The bibliometric study was carried out using the R software packages Bibliometrix and Biblioshiny. The narrowed search yielded 43 publications, all published between 2006 and 2022. Yet, after applying filters and considering the inclusion requirements, the search results comprise just 16 original articles out of 43 articles. There were 27 articles eliminated. This study puts emphasis on the critical need for more diverse participant demographics in Parkinson's disease investigations. AfrAbia-PD-Genetic Consortium (AAPDGC) is GP2 initiative that helps to represent AfrAbia PD genetics.