What if You Knew Alzheimer’s Was Coming for You?
- 7 years ago
What if You Knew Alzheimer’s Was Coming for You?
“The sooner you know your gene status, the sooner you can start doing something about it.”
Not all cases of Alzheimer’s can be traced to a particular gene variance, but for someone like Theresa — who has two copies of ApoE4 and is now in her late 50s — chances are high
that she will be diagnosed with the disease within the next 10 to 20 years.
He called for new approaches to combating the disease, including developing “a more reliable, affordable and accessible diagnostic — such as a blood test.” Mr. Gates also announced
that he would be donating $100 million to fight Alzheimer’s, which will no doubt help to make blood tests a reality.
“If you’re working in a professional capacity, seeing clients who need to have confidence in your brain,” she said, “you wouldn’t want them to know
that you had this gene variant.” She is afraid of being denied insurance and long-term disability care because of her genotype.
In the difficult months after her genetic test, Ms. Gregory “wanted to be with people
who were going through the same devastation,” so she sought out other ApoE4 carriers.
So you may be faced with some difficult choices within the next decade: Do you want to receive
potentially alarming news about your cognitive health, or would you rather not?
Jason Karlawish, a professor of medicine and neurology at the University of Pennsylvania,
studies how people at high risk of Alzheimer’s disease cope with that knowledge.
“The sooner you know your gene status, the sooner you can start doing something about it.”
Not all cases of Alzheimer’s can be traced to a particular gene variance, but for someone like Theresa — who has two copies of ApoE4 and is now in her late 50s — chances are high
that she will be diagnosed with the disease within the next 10 to 20 years.
He called for new approaches to combating the disease, including developing “a more reliable, affordable and accessible diagnostic — such as a blood test.” Mr. Gates also announced
that he would be donating $100 million to fight Alzheimer’s, which will no doubt help to make blood tests a reality.
“If you’re working in a professional capacity, seeing clients who need to have confidence in your brain,” she said, “you wouldn’t want them to know
that you had this gene variant.” She is afraid of being denied insurance and long-term disability care because of her genotype.
In the difficult months after her genetic test, Ms. Gregory “wanted to be with people
who were going through the same devastation,” so she sought out other ApoE4 carriers.
So you may be faced with some difficult choices within the next decade: Do you want to receive
potentially alarming news about your cognitive health, or would you rather not?
Jason Karlawish, a professor of medicine and neurology at the University of Pennsylvania,
studies how people at high risk of Alzheimer’s disease cope with that knowledge.