Alzheimer's disease may be inherited more often than previously known

30 points by ecolonsmak 1 year ago | 18 comments
  • chiefalchemist 1 year ago
    I'll have to read it again but I didn't notice where they ruled out environmental factors (read: epigenetics). The thing about families is they share environments, diet, habits, other norms, etc.
    • tupshin 1 year ago
      They haven't ruled out epigenetics causes, but they are talking about a very specific gene (APOE4) with an extremely strong correlation with Alzheimer's when two copies of the gene are present.
      • odyssey7 1 year ago
        Does everybody with two copies get Alzheimer’s? If not, then there must be at least one additional ingredient / cause.
        • tupshin 1 year ago
          > Not only were people with two copies of the APOE4 gene much more likely to develop the biological changes that lead to Alzheimer’s disease, similar to people with the other genetic forms of the disease, they were almost assured the diagnosis: Nearly 95% of the people in the studies with two copies of the APOE4 gene had the biology of Alzheimer’s disease by the time they were 82 years old.
      • icegreentea2 1 year ago
        I -think- this is a working shareable link https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-02931-w
        • m463 1 year ago
          Yeah if it is a prion disease, it might be transmitted.
          • subsubzero 1 year ago
            I read a book called "Brain trust" last year about prion diseases being the cause of massive increases in Alzheimers cases. The idea was intriguing but one fact the author mentioned was about how the US does not test meat in decent intervals for CJD or other prion diseases, while Japan does. The book was written in the early 2000's so alot of the stuff that was posited can be checked today and that was one thing that I did check, comparing Japans rate of Alzheimers to the US and both countries are seeing the same huge uptick in cases. So it seems like its a global issue and not really one that is based in the US due to "potentially" infected meat.

            On a side note I know alot of people(not related to me) that are being affected with severe memory issues in their 60's and 70's. A friends Dad is in a memory care facility and he is in his mid 60's and was extremely fit(he was also a avid hunter - unsure if this was a cause). My Wife's aunt's Mom (not related by blood to her) has severe dementia and is in her 70's and needs $7k a month constant memory care. A friends mom has sundowners and every day her memory "erases", my Friend was looking into memory care for her and was quoted $13k a month for this. All these cases seem quite strange as the individuals led normal lives and then just started suffering these extreme memory/brain issues. I do not know what is causing it but I think its alot more widespread than people know.

            • kcplate 1 year ago
              My dad did a short stint in memory care before he passed (86 years old). He had Alzheimer’s caused dementia. I was surprised by how many younger (60s+) people than him that there were in his facility.

              Without having much experience with early onset Alzheimer’s, I had always assumed that healthcare keeping people alive longer allowing people to live long enough to develop it was the reason it seemed to be more and more prevalent.

              All I guess I really know for sure is that it’s a horrible fucking disease.

        • Metacelsus 1 year ago
          This isn't really anything new, the paper is just proposing APOE4 homozygous Alzheimer's as a special category.
          • alwillis 1 year ago
            > This isn't really anything new

            Not true.

            As someone who’s recently spoken to a genetic counselor about this very issue, this is basically a 180 degree turn.

            Now, researchers say APOE4 shouldn’t just be recognized as a risk factor, it should be viewed as an inherited form of the disease, virtually assuring that a person who has two copies will get the biological changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease in their brains.