Will I be diagnosed with Alzheimer's like my mother?

homer911

This looks interesting

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20m4e27enko

While nobody really wants to know what might lie ahead of them, having had a parent who died from Dementia, I'd probably sign up for this. If I was found to have the amyloid protein, I'm sure I'd take early retirement and make sure to spend my pension while I could enjoy it..

Strumms

an uncle of mine had it. Not a blood relative. His children now range in ages from about 52 to 58. So far no problems for any of the 3.

Dunno if the amyloid test is available or what here but might be worth considering if there is a worry.

magicbastarder

i remember michael mosley did a program probably 10+ years ago on the BBC, about the rise in popularity of proactive medical testing, and came to a mixed view of the benefit. but one of the aspects he looked into was DNA testing which would let you know what your chances were of contracting various ailments were, and found out he had something like an 80% chance of developing MS before he was 80 - and stated on camera that he deeply regretted having taken the test.

his attitude was there was nothing he could do to stave it off, but now he was going to be constantly worrying about it till the day he died, while actually (currently) having no options to change his chances, so gained little benefit and a lot of worry from the knowledge. alas, the poor chap doesn't have to worry any more.

anewme

I dont think its that easy to be honest. If you knew you were likely to get dementia, it would have a massive impact on your current life.

It would hugely effect insurance for a start and your financial life.

If you are susceptible, all you can do is be aware, take best care of yourself, but that is easier said than done with ordinary life, stress and all that comes with it.

Markcheese

My great grandmother went a bit iffy in her older years , not bad bad till her mid 80s ,

My grandmother started going in her mid 60s ,

Honestly we reckoned my dad would be the same ,and us after , well he's 80 now , and fine , so taking that as a win .

Nothing is certain, you may be susceptible, but don't panic

hairyslug

my da had vascular dementia. The early days were tough, his nursing home was fantastic and offered a lot of help and support. Once they got his meds fine tuned, he mellowed out a lot more. For want of a better word, his death was calm.

chrissb8

Staying physically and mentally active, eating well and avoiding smoking, excessive alcohol and head injury may all protect you from dementia later in life.

Grabbed that from google. But good high intensity exercise and weight training will go a huge way to significantly reduce your chances of Dementia or significantly kick the can down the road to a later age. This is because health seeking behaviours stave off the effects of aging. Same thing as keeping mobile and having strength in your body in later years.

Some people are barely able to climb a flight of stairs past 75 and then there are others who go walking 10km a day no bother. This is largely down to how you treat yourself. As the doctor says the best medicine is diet & exercise.

On a purely hopeful note, I do think these diseases in the next decade or two will have superior treatments in the suppression or elimination of mental conditions such as these.