Genetics play a role in early development of Alzheimer’s
Does your family tree consist of a many of relatives who had exceptionally long lives? A recent study suggests that families with longevity appear to have later onset of dementia.
The study compared the onset of Alzheimer’s disease among blood relatives with in long-living families and compared that with similar data on their spouses.
It was found among the people, average age of 70, who had blood relatives with unusually long life spans had less than half the threat of having Alzheimer’s disease than their comparably aged spouses.
However, once people reach the age of 90, onset of Alzheimer’s disease occurred at the same percentage rate with people who had families with longevity as those who did not.
The study appears to confirm earlier studies that show the essential role of the inflammation in Alzheimer’s dementia and some of the factors that cause Alzheimer’s have to do with the same blood vessel inflammation that contribute to cardiovascular disease and cancer.
To read more go to http://www.alz.org/enews/050813.html