Is Alzheimer’s Disease Hereditary? on EasyLiving Front Range Colorado

Is Alzheimer’s Disease Hereditary? By Ron Kauffman Perhaps you’re wondering why so many articles lately have had to do with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Here are some interesting facts: Heart disease remains, by far, the number one killer of Americans. Cancer is the most feared disease by Americans, but Alzheimer’s disease is now the second most feared disease in our country. Approximately 50% of all people age 85 and older will develop some form of memory loss, and about 90% of those cases will be Alzheimer’s disease. It may be helpful to understand the difference between Dementia and Alzheimer’s, as there are people who use both words interchangeably to describe what they think is the same disease. It’s not, but both impact memory. Let’s describe Dementia as a large Oak tree with several very distinct branches. Think of the entire length of the trunk as Dementia, because the trunk is the one section of the tree that is common to all of its branches. Emanating from the Dementia trunk are the branches, and while each branch is separate and unique, it is still part of the main trunk of the tree – a member of the Dementia family. Alzheimer’s disease is only one branch, one form, of cognitive impairment that is a member of the larger Dementia family tree. Each of the remaining branches on the Dementia tree also represents a different form of disease, but is still a member of the Dementia family tree. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, irreversible brain disorder that has no known cause or cure. Symptoms of the disease include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, personality changes, disorientation, and loss of language skills. Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s disease is always fatal and remains the most common form of irreversible dementia. Alzheimer’s disease can affect younger people with a type of AD known as “early onset” Alzheimer’s disease. A person’s chance of developing AD increases with age, and as medicine and technology continue to extend our lifespan, more people will live well into their 80’s and beyond. Today more than 5.2 million Americans are believed to have Alzheimer’s disease. For years Alzheimer’s research has been slowly gaining ground in understanding what causes the disease and how to best treat it. However, while scientists have identified some of the factors that appear to be involved in the development of the disease, they have yet to learn its exact causes. They know what it looks like in a scan of the brain or in tissue samples under a microscope, but there are several schools of thought as to exactly how or why some people get it and others do not. What is known is that age is the single greatest risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease, but the question remains, is Alzheimer’s disease inherited? The answer to that question is yes and no, proving that nothing in the science of Alzheimer’s disease is easy or necessarily straightforward. Without getting too technical, let’s look at some factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease. There are 3 forms of a gene called Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and there seem to be risk factors associated with at least one form of that gene - the most common form for late onset Alzheimer’s disease. This gets more confusing because while one of the three forms of the gene appears to increase the possibility for getting the disease, another one of the gene forms seems to protect the person from getting AD at all. But in virtually every case where all three of those forms of genes are involved, it remains a disease of older people. But research involving those gene forms shows NO obvious inheritance pattern. That may be good news if Dementia of the Alzheimer’s type runs in your family. However, there is also a form of the disease called Familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD) or early-onset. This form of Alzheimer’s disease is much less common, but has been shown to be an inherited form of Alzheimer’s that affects approximately 10% of all Alzheimer’s patients. While early-onset Alzheimer’s disease can develop later in life, it is most common in people under the age of 65. Cases of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease have been reported in people as young as age 35. There’s still a lot of research to be done until we find a cure – and we will. I hope this basic explanation was helpful. Ron Kauffman is a Certified Senior Advisor, and an expert on issues of aging and care giving. He is the author of Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer’s Disease, which is available at www.seniorlifestyles.net. He can be reached at 561-626-4481 or by email at drron407@bellsouth.net.