Studies discover 12 genetic links to neurodegenerative disease in South Asian and Korean populations

October 1, 2026

SEOUL — A dozen novel gene loci in Asian subpopulations appear related to disease risk, as reported in a pair of late-breaking abstracts presented at the 2026 International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders® in Seoul.

The findings come from two separate research teams, who each performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in ancestry-specific cohorts consisting of patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) or Parkinson’s disease (PD). 

“These two research studies are exciting because they present novel GWAS data from South Asian and Korean populations,” said Dr. Jill Ostrem, professor of neurology at University of California, San Francisco. “For many years, the genetics of PD and PSP have focused primarily on populations of patients with European ancestry.

“Taken together, these studies highlight how greater ancestral diversity can reveal new disease biology and may improve population-specific risk prediction and treatment.”

Through genetic analysis of 784 Indians diagnosed with PSP — a primary 4-repeat tauopathy that affects body movement, balance and eye movements — as well as more than 3,000 genetically matched South Asian controls, researchers identified 6 novel loci implicating neuroimmune, endosomal, inflammatory and mitochondrial pathways: rs7215152 at SCIMP/ZNF594-DT, rs11582805 at LOC105371701, rs2958123 at PTGES3, rs10424744 at KLK10, rs9369705 at CD2AP and rs3774903 at PPARGC1A. These significant loci did not merely reprise the gene architecture of European-centric cohorts, suggesting population-specific discovery.

A separate GWAS of Korean patient cohorts totaling 2,642 cases of idiopathic PD identified 17 significant signals, 6 of which are novel: NEK4, SLC16A7, ACAD10, NAA25/TRAFD1, MFSD12 and BCR. Additionally, a weighted genetic risk score built from lead single-nucleotide polymorphisms revealed a significant association between signals and age at PD onset.

“The first South Asian PSP GWAS potentially broadens our understanding of PSP pathophysiology beyond previously established MAPT-centered mechanisms,” Ostrem said. “The Korean PD GWAS identified risk loci known to be involved in mitochondrial or lysosomal function — NEK4, ACAD10 and MFSD12 — and found a greater genetic burden in earlier PD onset.”

Full details of the studies are available in the MDS Congress 2026 late-breaking abstracts (abstracts 3 and 8). 

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About the 2026 MDS International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders^®:
The MDS International Congress is the premier annual event to advance the clinical and scientific discipline of Movement Disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. Convening thousands of leading clinicians, scientists and other health professionals from around the globe, the International Congress will introduce more than 2,000 scientific abstracts and provide a forum for education and collaboration on latest research and treatment findings. 

About the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society: 
The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society^® (MDS), an international society of more than 12,000 clinicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For more information about MDS, visit www.movementdisorders.org.