Journal Article

Genetic Modifiers of Parkinson's Disease: A Case–Control Study

Aslibekyan, Stella, Shi, Jingchunzi, Riboldi, Giulietta M., Kmiecik, Matthew J., Gottesman, Josh, Hinds, David A., Holmes, Michael V., Schneider, Ruth B., Guan, Anna, Stagaman, Keaton, Norcliffe‐Kaufmann, Lucy, Tung, Joyce Y., Tat, Susana, Micheletti, Steven, Fontanillas, Pierre

2025

Overview

Objective To examine the associations of LRRK2 p.G2019S, GBA1 p.N409S, polygenic risk scores (PRS), and APOE E4 on PD penetrance, risk, and symptoms. Methods We conducted a US‐based observational case–control study using data from the 23andMe Inc. and Fox Insight Genetic Substudy (FIGS) databases. The total cohort included 7,586,842 participants (n = 35,163 PD); 8791 LRRK2 p.G2019S carriers (565 with PD), 37,427 GBA1 p.N409S carriers (524 with PD), 244 dual LRRK2/GBA1 carriers (37 with PD), and 7.5 million noncarriers (34,037 with PD). PRS was calculated from the most recently published European genome‐wide association study. Survival models estimated the cumulative incidence of PD. Logistic regressions estimated the relative odds of reporting motor and non‐motor symptoms according to genetic exposure. Results By the age of 80 years, the cumulative incidence of PD was 30% for dual carriers, 24% for LRRK2 p.G2019S carriers, 4% for GBA1 p.N409S carriers, and 2% for noncarriers. Higher PRS was associated with increased penetrance of the variants and earlier time to PD diagnosis. GBA1 p.N409S PD was associated with the highest burden of non‐motor symptoms, including REM sleep behavior disorder and cognitive/memory deficits, and LRRK2 p.G2019S with the lowest. APOE E4 dosage was associated with greater odds of reporting hallucinations and cognitive impairment in addition to carrier status. Interpretation Our findings support the use of genetic screening to enrich candidate selection for neuroprotective trials and better define outcome measures based on genetics.

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc,Wiley
• Subject: Age / Aged / Aged, 80 and over / Apolipoprotein E4 - genetics / Case-Control Studies / Dementia / Female / GBA1 / Genealogy / Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Genome-Wide Association Study / Glucosylceramidase - genetics / Humans / Kinases / Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2 - genetics / LRRK2 / Male / Middle Aged / Multifactorial Inheritance / Neurodegeneration / Parkinson Disease - epidemiology / Parkinson Disease - genetics / Parkinson Disease - physiopathology / Parkinson's disease / Penetrance / polygenic risk scores / Traumatic brain injury