Risk of Alzheimer’s disease in children of both parents was affected.

Posted on December 25, 2008
Filed Under Alzheimer |

Alzheimer’s disease is an uncommon cause of dementia (assumes 70% of cases) and the main cause of cognitive decline in older people. The early submission of the familial form of Alzheimer’s disease, which occurs in 1% 3% of cases of this disease, has been associated with some genetic alterations, particularly with 3 genes. However, the mechanisms by which this disease is still quite dark.

Family walking

When both parents have Alzheimer’s disease there is an increased risk of illness in their children. The identification of genetic susceptibility to the disease in late onset Alzheimer’s could provide some insight into the mechanisms of development of this process and providing clinical information on the risk of the disease. It has identified a protein called apolipoprotein E, as one of these risk factors for the disease. It is believed that other genes are involved in the development of this disease through a mechanism of polygenic inheritance, ie, with involvement of multiple genes.

The descendants of a sick

As Alzheimer’s disease is a fairly common disorder in the general population, it is not uncommon for both members of a partner to develop the disease. Presumably, the descendants of these couples would carry a higher genetic load associated with the disease. As a result, many of these descendants would know the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and higher risk than the general population.

Some studies have described an increased prevalence of dementia in the offspring of couples suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The authors of this study were to determine the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in families where both parents suffered the disease.

The study

For this study to 111 families whose parents had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The results showed that the 111 couples had 297 children who had reached the adult stage. 22.6% (almost one in four) of these children had developed Alzheimer’s disease. The risk of this disease in these children increases with age, from 31% in those older than 60 years and 41.8% in those older than 70 years. Most of these children at risk are still under 70 years at the time of the study which means that the onset of Alzheimer’s disease will increase in coming years.

The disease is expressed earlier

A family history of Alzheimer’s disease beyond the parents did not change the risk of this disease in children but reduced the average age of onset of the disease in those affected. The apolipoprotein E gene played an important role in this phenomenon but did not explain all cases of Alzheimer’s disease in these children.

The authors conclude that when both parents have Alzheimer’s disease there is an increased risk of illness in their children, beyond the general population. The role of family history and the specific genes involved in this phenomenon require a better definition.

I know families with a history of Alzheimer’s disease should seek help in research of this disease given its high risk.

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