Candidate novel long noncoding RNAs, MicroRNAs and putative drugs for Parkinson's disease using a robust and efficient genome-wide association study

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with serious symptoms of which, are not clearly demonstrated at the beginning stages of the disease, making treatment challenging. Understanding the genetic causes of PD can be useful for determining its mechanisms and proposing treatments and preventive methods. For different populations with different genetic backgrounds and lifestyles, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) represent a crucial approach for genetic analysis. In this study, a robust and efficient GWAS without dimensionality reduction applied to evaluate heritability and genetic causes of PD in the German and US populations. The results show higher rate of PD heritability in the German population. Moreover, 25 significant SNPs have been determined, as well as five newly identified candidate genes associated with PD and some potential drug candidates. Analysis also reveals various long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs and transcription-factor binding sites (TFBSs) with potential in the prevention and treatment of PD.