Biology subjects

Lill, C. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Lill, C. M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2018

Risky behaviors and Parkinson’s disease: A Mendelian randomization study in up to 1 million study participants

ObjectiveDopaminergic neurotransmission is known to be a potential modulator of risky behaviors including substance abuse, promiscuity, and gambling. Furthermore, observational studies have shown associations between risky behaviors and Parkinsons disease; however, the causal nature of these associations remains unclear. Thus, in this study, we examine causal associations between risky behavior phenotypes on Parkinsons disease using a Mendelian randomization approach.\n\nMethodsWe used two-sample Mendelian randomization to generate unconfounded estimates using summary statistics from two independent, large meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies on risk taking behaviors (n=370,771-939,908) and Parkinsons disease (cases: n=9581, controls: n = 33,245). We used inverse variance weighted as the main method for judging causality.\n\nResultsOur results support a strong protective association between the tendency to smoke and Parkinsons disease (OR=0.714 per log odds of ever smoking; 95% CI=0.568-0.897; p-value=0.0041; Cochran Q test; p-value=0.238; I2 index=6.3%). Furthermore, we observed risk association trends between automobile speed propensity as well as the number of sexual partners and Parkinsons disease after removal of overlapping loci with other risky traits (OR=1.986 for each standard deviation increase in normalized automobile speed propensity; 95% CI=1.215-3.243; p-value=0.0066, OR=1.635 for each standard deviation increase in number of sexual partners; 95% CI=1.165-2.293; p-value=0.0049).\n\nInterpretationThese findings provide support for a causal relationship between general risk tolerance and Parkinsons disease and may provide new insights in the pathogenic mechanisms leading to the development of Parkinsons disease.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2018

Field synopsis and systematic meta-analyses of genetic association studies in isolated dystonia

Background and objectivesDystonia is a genetically complex disease with both monogenic and polygenic causes. For the latter, numerous genetic associations studies have been performed with largely inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to perform a field synopsis including systematic meta-analyses of genetic association studies in isolated dystonia\n\nMethodsFor the field synopsis we systematically screened and scrutinized the published literature using NCBIs PubMed database. For genetic variants with sufficient information in at least two independent datasets, random-effects meta-analyses were performed, including meta-analyses stratified by ethnic descent and dystonia subtypes.\n\nResultsA total of 3,575 articles were identified and scrutinized resulting in the inclusion of 42 independent publications allowing 134 meta-analyses on 45 variants across 17 genes. While our meta-analyses pinpointed several significant association signals with variants in TOR1A, DRD1, and ARSG, no single variant displayed compelling association with dystonia in the available data.\n\nConclusionsOur study provides an up-to-date summary of the status of dystonia genetic association studies. Additional large-scale studies are needed to better understand the genetic causes of isolated dystonia.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

Genome-wide study identifies 611 loci associated with risk tolerance and risky behaviors

Humans vary substantially in their willingness to take risks. In a combined sample of over one million individuals, we conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of general risk tolerance, adventurousness, and risky behaviors in the driving, drinking, smoking, and sexual domains. We identified 611 approximately independent genetic loci associated with at least one of our phenotypes, including 124 with general risk tolerance. We report evidence of substantial shared genetic influences across general risk tolerance and risky behaviors: 72 of the 124 general risk tolerance loci contain a lead SNP for at least one of our other GWAS, and general risk tolerance is moderately to strongly genetically correlated ([Formula] to 0.50) with a range of risky behaviors. Bioinformatics analyses imply that genes near general-risk-tolerance-associated SNPs are highly expressed in brain tissues and point to a role for glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission. We find no evidence of enrichment for genes previously hypothesized to relate to risk tolerance.

genetics↗