Bin Zheng

TL;DR: A genome-wide meta-analysis of gene sets (groups of genes that encode the same biological pathway or process) in 410 samples from patients with symptomatic Parkinson’s and subclinical disease and healthy controls identified 10 gene sets that were all associated with PD.

TL;DR: It is shown that reactive oxygen species (ROS) serve as common mediators upstream of the activation of the type III PI3 kinase, which is critical for the initiation of autophagy, and it is demonstrated thatAutophagy is transcriptionally down-regulated during normal aging in the human brain.

TL;DR: It is shown that S NCA and the heme metabolism genes ALAS2, FECH, and BLVRB form a block of tightly correlated gene expression in 113 samples of human blood, where SNCA naturally abounds, and this critical link between GATA factors and SNCa may enable therapies designed to lower α-synuclein production.

TL;DR: The chromatin regulator H2AFY is identified as a potential biomarker associated with disease activity and pharmacodynamic response that may become useful for enabling disease-modifying therapeutics for Huntington disease.

TL;DR: This study reveals a consistent association of reduced SNCA transcripts in accessible peripheral blood and early-stage Parkinson's disease and suggests a clinical role as potential predictor of cognitive decline and the three independent biobank cohorts provide a generally useful platform for rapidly validating any biological marker of this common disease.