Sergey Brin, one of the billionaire founders of Google, announced last week that he is carrying a mutant gene regarded as an indicator of Parkinson’s disease.
Brin, 35, revealed that his DNA had been examined by 23andMe, a genetic testing company co-founded by his wife, Anne Wojcicki. The results showed that his genetic make-up included a mutation of a gene known as LRRK2, which several studies have linked to Parkinson’s.
Writing in a new blog, Brin acknowledged that the implications of his discovery were “not entirely clear”, but he added: “It is clear that I have a markedly higher chance of developing Parkinson’s in my lifetime than the average person.”
