MDS 2021 | Environmental and genetic interactions in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease

Caroline Tanner, MD, PhD, FAAN, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, discusses the relationship between environmental and genetic factors and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Dr Tanner talks on rare high penetrance genes and other more common risk variants that give a genetic predisposition to PD. There also may be environmental factors involved in the increased risk of PD, such as exposure to environmental toxicants, specifically chlorinated solvents, and traumatic brain injury. Studies have also shown that lifestyle factors such as inactivity may be associated with increased risk of PD. Genome-wide studies have suggested that for most people, risk is determined by a complex balance of these factors and their interactions. This interview took place during the 2021 International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders.