Expression profiling of substantia nigra in Parkinson disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, and frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism.

Background: Parkinson disease (PD) is characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Genes contributing to rare mendelian forms of PD have been identified, but the genes involved in the more common idiopathic PD are not well understood.

Objectives: To identify genes important to PD pathogenesis using microarrays and to investigate their potential to aid in diagnosing parkinsonism.