New study from Purdue Health Sciences researchers finds early environmental factors that influence Parkinson’s disease development 

Written By: Rebecca Hoffa, rhoffa@purdue.edu 

With limited therapies available to slow disease progression and an aging U.S. population, the number of Parkinson’s disease cases in the United States is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2030, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation.  

While many researchers focus on the disease after it has progressed, Jason Cannon, professor and acting head of the Purdue University School of Health Sciences, and Fatema Currim, a postdoctoral researcher in the Cannon Lab of Experimental and Translational Neurotoxicology, are looking into the first environmental and dietary exposures that influence Parkinson’s disease development. 

“Out of all of the neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s has a very strong and well-established link between environmental exposures and the disease, relative to Alzheimer’s and ALS,” Cannon said. “There’s mounting data to suggest that environment plays a key role in all of these diseases, but the overall present data set in terms of epidemiology and toxicology is really much stronger for Parkinson’s disease.” 

Jason Cannon(Photo provided)

A new advancement in their research came in the March 2025 study “Rotenone induced acute miRNA alterations in extracellular vesicles produce mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death,” on which Currim was first author. The study found with just one dose of the pesticide rotenone, there are alterations in extracellular vesicles, which are tiny particles released by the brain cells that cause changes in other brain cells. This drives toxicity in the brain that is consistent with the development of Parkinson’s disease.  

“As the years progress, this disease spreads from one brain region to another,” Currim said. “My research work is basically to determine how the intercellular communication in the brain takes place, which facilitates the spread of Parkinson’s disease.” 

While more work needs to be done, the researchers noted these findings take a significant step in identifying a potential biomarker, which provides a measurable way to track the disease and its progression.  

“We know that rotenone is a risk factor for Parkinson’s disease — that’s been shown over and over again,” Cannon said. “A lot of folks tend to focus on the later stages of pathology, but we’ve been focusing more on what happens after that first dose right away that starts that cascade. I’m hoping that with this recent finding, we’ve identified how that neurotoxicity spreads. Fatema has also made some mechanistic advances on what is inside of those vesicles and what they do.” 

Ultimately, Currim and Cannon hope the work can have a direct impact in eventually paving the way for new Parkinson’s disease therapies by first raising awareness of the environmental factors that contribute to Parkinson’s disease early and pinpointing therapeutic targets.  

Fatema Currim(Photo provided)

“This is something that can potentially be directly translated to a clinical setting,” Currim said. “The discovery of biomarkers is something that is very much needed to catch these diseases early on before the damage is done. That is something that is worth looking into, and I like doing that kind of research. I think we need an awareness of how things around us can potentially cause neurotoxicity and take care to minimize our exposure. I think all of this awareness is very necessary because it’s not just genetic stuff.” 

For Cannon, Purdue provides an excellent location to conduct research in neurotoxicity due to the collaborative nature of the College of Health and Human Sciences and the robust research support of the university. 

“Purdue is an outstanding place to do this type of work,” Cannon said. “I came to Purdue because the toxicology was so strong, and it’s grown tremendously. The type of work we’re doing here, it’s difficult to envision a better place to do it, just because of all the different collaborations we have.” 

While Cannon and his research team continue to investigate compounds that have links to Parkinson’s disease, Cannon said the work the Parkinson’s disease community is doing in advocating for research funding and raising awareness of their challenges has been particularly influential throughout his work.  

“The Parkinson’s disease community is among the most motivated and aggressive in lobbying,” Cannon said. “They’re the ones who are going to make the most difference in areas that we really need it with legislatures and political motivation to really move the needle on this. The Parkinson’s community is also so supportive of research. Without that, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”