By Stephen Shankland, CNET
The inaugural post on Brin's blog, too.blogspot, is titled "LRRK2" after the gene that he found carries a mutation called G2019S, which, "while rare even among people with the disease, accounts, in some ethnic groups, for a substantial proportion of familial Parkinson's," Brin said in the blog post.
"It is clear that I have a markedly higher chance of developing Parkinson's in my lifetime than the average person. In fact, it is somewhere between 20 percent to 80 percent, depending on the study and how you measure," Brin said.
Brin's mother and her aunt both have Parkinson's, and recent research has uncovered a genetic link in some cases of the disease, Brin wrote. And through the services of start-up 23andMe, co-founded by his wife, Anne Wojcicki, and Linda Avey, he found that he carries the same mutation. The research is still early, though, he said. And he had an optimistic take on the news.
Brin said the knowledge gives him some power.
"I know early in my life something I am substantially predisposed to. I now have the opportunity to adjust my life to reduce those odds (e.g. there is evidence that exercise may be protective against Parkinson's). I also have the opportunity to perform and support research into this disease long before it may affect me," he said. "And, regardless of my own health, it can help my family members, as well as others."
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