Genetic models of Parkinson disease

To date, a truly representative animal model of Parkinson disease (PD) remains a critical unmet need. Although toxin-induced PD models have served many useful purposes, they have generally failed to recapitulate accurately the progressive process as well as the nature and distribution of the human pathology. During the last decade or so, the identification of several genes whose mutations are causative of rare familial forms of PD has heralded in a new dawn for PD modelling. Numerous mammalian as well as non mammalian models of genetically-linked PD have since been created. However, despite initial optimism, none of these models turned out to be a perfect replica of PD. Meanwhile, genetic and toxin-induced models alike continue to evolve towards mimicking the disease more faithfully. Notwithstanding this, current genetic models have collectively illuminated several important pathways relevant to PD pathogenesis. Here, we have attempted to provide a comprehensive discussion on existing genetic models of PD. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.