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“Background: The French Nutrition and Health Survey (ENNS) was conducted in order to describe food consumption and levels of various biomarkers in the general population. In this paper, we aimed to assess the distribution of blood lead levels (BLL) in the adult population living in France.

Method: ENNS was a cross-sectional survey carried out in the general population. Participants (18-74 years of age) were sampled using a three-stage probability design stratified by geographical areas and degrees of urbanization. Collected data included biochemical samples,

anthropometric measurements, socio-demographic characteristics, and environmental and occupational exposure.

Results: In 2006/2007,2029 adults were included in the survey on lead. The blood lead PF-03084014 geometric mean (GM) in the population living in France was 25.7 mu g/L[24.9-26.5]. check details The overall prevalence

of elevated BLL (>100 mu g/L) was 1.7%[1.1-2.3%]. Levels were significantly higher in males than in females, and increased with age, smoking status and alcohol consumption. Other factors significantly associated with BLL were leisure activities, occupational category, age of housing unit, birth place and shellfish/crustacean consumption.

Conclusion: For the first time a survey provides national estimates of BLL for the adult population in France. Comparison with results from a previous study among men

aged 18-28 years showed that the GM dropped more than 60% in the last 10 years. The distribution of BLL in France was quite similar to that observed in NVP-HSP990 other European countries. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene have emerged as a potential common cause for both sporadic and familial Parkinson’s Disease (PD) in different populations. The pleomorphic features exhibited by LRRK2 mutation carriers and the central role of Lrrk2 protein in the proper functioning of central nervous system suggest that mutations in this protein might be involved in multiple cellular processes leading to other neurodegenerative disorders than PD. The location of LRRK2 gene on chromosome 12, close to a linkage peak for familial late-onset Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), highlights that LRRK2 mutations might be involved in AD pathogenesis. We screened the most common LRRK2 mutation (p.G2019S) in a series of 180 consecutive patients clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer Disease (AD). We identified the p.G2019S in one AD patient with no PD signs, indicating that this mutation is not a common etiological factor for AD in our population (0.5%), corroborating recent data found in Norwegian, North American, Chinese and Italian populations.