Although somewhat preliminary, it is tempting to suggest from our findings here that impaired AMPK/PGC-1α activation may contribute to DA neurodegeneration in Parkin- and PINK1-related PD cases, particularly in view of recent reports highlighting that SNpc DA neurons are characterized by unusually high energy demands (Pacelli et al. 2015; Pissadaki and Bolam 2013). The gene discussed is PRKN; the disease is Parkinson disease.