Lrrk2 G2019S substitution in frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin-immunoreactive neuronal inclusions

Abstract

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) mutation carriers can develop clinical symptoms other than typical parkinsonism such as dementia, amyotrophy or dystonia. To determine if LRRK2 mutations might be involved in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), 5 individuals with multiplex familial FTD kindreds and 41 pathologically confirmed cases of FTD, including 23 with a family history of dementia, were screened for genetic variations in the LRRK2 gene. We identified a LRRK2 mutation leading to the G2019S amino acid substitution in a 79-year-old woman with frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitinated neuronal intranuclear inclusions (FTLD-U/NII) and a possible family history of tremor. These findings may be coincidental; however, there is a small nucleus of LRRK2-positive patients displaying atypical features suggesting a role for this protein in other neurodegenerative disorders.