February 3, 2026

@michaelokun

Genes meet environment in Parkinson’s risk: enter the ‘dual risk axis.’ What does dual risk axis mean? Dual risk axis refers to how genetic vulnerability and environmental exposure can interact to shape Parkinson’s disease risk, rather than each acting alone. Zeynep Hilal Üstündağ and colleagues describe a new paper that just dropped in Journal of Parkinson’s Disease how GBA1 mutations and occupational pesticide exposure intersect in Parkinson’s disease. Key points: - Occupational pesticide exposure was reported more frequently in folks carrying pathogenic GBA1 mutations compared w/ non carriers. - The findings support a gene environment dual hit model, where genetic vulnerability may amplify the impact of environmental exposure. - Pesticide exposure did not, in this small cohort, appear to further change age of onset or disease severity once Parkinson’s disease was established. My take: This study adds important nuance to the Parkinson’s story. Risk is rarely one thing. It is frequently the combination of biology and environment that matters, and this work may help explain why some folks are more vulnerable than others. Here are 5 points that resonated w/ me: 1- Parkinson’s disease risk frequently reflects an interaction between genes and environment, rather than a single cause. 2- GBA1 mutations may increase susceptibility to environmental stressors like pesticides. 3- Not everyone w/ a genetic risk develops Parkinson’s which highlights the importance of environmental context. 4- Reducing environmental exposures could be especially meaningful for genetically vulnerable folks. 5- The future of Parkinson’s prevention likely depends on identifying and protecting those at highest combined risk. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1877718X251412233 #michaelokun #fixelinstitute #parkinson