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At the University of Washington’s School of Medicine there is a computer database that states with certainty – albeit heavily encrypted – whether or not Sophie Leggett will develop a form of genetically inherited early onset Alzheimer’s disease. But she has chosen not to find out what it says.
A blood test is available to adult children and siblings of those who develop Alzheimer’s at a young age and have a family history of the disease. It identifies whether they carry one of the three faulty genes known to cause familial early onset Alzheimer’s, presenilin 1 (the mutation affecting Leggett’s family), presenilin 2 and amyloid precursor protein. All result in the overproduction of amyloid, a protein that builds up into the plaques on the brain which are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s.
Coming to terms with this possibility is a major source of anxiety for potential sufferers, says Susie Henley, a clinical and research psychologist at the Dementia Research Centre, University College Hospital, London, who works with patients affected by this and other rare forms of dementia. Knowing that the gene is or may be present can lead to terrifying cycles of anxiety. “You become very vigilant for signs that you have it – lost keys, forgotten words – but don’t notice signs that you don’t. The anxiety in itself has the effect of making you forget more things. Patients have also usually seen the disease played out before them, increasing anxiety further.”
Read full, original post: Can knowing you and your family may get Alzheimer’s ever be positive?
