Indication for molecular testing by multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification in parkinsonism

Abstract Background and purpose The monogenic forms of Parkinson's disease represent <10% of familial cases and a still lower frequency of sporadic cases. However, guidelines to orient genetic testing are lacking. The aim was to establish the interest of multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification (MLPA) as a primary screening test and to propose clinical criteria to guide genetic diagnostic tests for patients with suspected Mendelian Parkinson's disease. Methods In all, 567 patients with parkinsonism from 547 unrelated families were recruited and two MLPAs were performed for each. All pathogenic G2019S variants in the LRRK2 gene were confirmed by Sanger sequencing and the PRKN gene was screened for a second mutation in the cases of one heterozygous structural variant in the PRKN gene. Results The performance of MLPA was 51/567 (9%) for the entire cohort and included 27 (4.8%) LRRK2 G2019S mutations, 19 (3.4%) PRKN mutations and five (0.9%) SNCA locus duplications. The variables significantly associated with a positive test in the total cohort were North African ancestry ( p < 0.0001), female sex ( p = 0.004) and younger age at onset ( p < 0.0008). Conclusions Retrospective analysis allowed us to refine our indication criteria: (i) North African ancestry, (ii) an age at onset <40 years or (iii) a familial history of parkinsonism with at least one affected first‐degree relative. Our study highlights the interest of MLPA testing for other parkinsonism cases with a family history, especially for patients with dementia with Lewy bodies or a multiple‐system‐atrophy‐like phenotype.