Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia haunting some families with grave concern. If you have a close relative with the disease many people fear that they are next, but this is actually false. Dr. Gad Marshall, assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, assures the public that is not the case. There are other factors that determine whether you will suffer from this disease or not. Yes family history plays a role. Your risk of developing the condition raises 30% if you have a close relative with Alzheimer’s. This correlates to 20 cases in 1000 people. Which still, is relatively low.
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Another large contender for raising the risk of Alzheimer’s is age. Once you reach the age of 65 your chances raise by 2%. Which means that two out of every 100 65 year olds will have dementia every year. Then, once you reach your 70’s the risk raises to 5%. Which still is not a large enough number to raise concern.
The last cause of Alzheimer’s is the presence of E (APOE4) gene. But, just because you have the gene does not mean you will have Alzheimer’s. If you have one copy of this gene then your chances of having dementia triples. Then if you have two copies you are about 10-15 times more likely, but this case is extremely rare. In retrospect, if you lack the E (APOE4) gene, you are not protected and can still be diagnosed with dementia.
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So, should you be tested for the Alzheimer’s gene? The answer in all reality is no. Dr. Marshall does not suggest for anyone with Alzheimer’s in their family to be tested. Whether you have the gene or not, the test does not give you a definitive yes or no. Discovering if you have the E (APOE4) gene could cause you to fear the future, and live your life in fear, which would not be quality.
Curated article from Harvard.
