The particular excitement in this topic was in part also due to the finding that the first PD-linked gene elucidated before Parkin, i.e., α-synuclein, encodes a presynaptic protein that tends to misfold and that was subsequently found to be a major component of Lewy Bodies (LBs), a histological hallmark of the PD brain (Spillantini et al., 1997). The gene discussed is PRKN; the disease is Parkinson disease.