The majority of dementia is not inherited by children and grandchildren. In rarer types of dementia there may be a strong genetic link, but these are only a tiny proportion of overall cases of dementia.
We all inherit a copy of some form of APOE from each parent. Those who inherit one copy of APOE-e4 from their mother or father have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's. Those who inherit two copies from their mother and father have an even higher risk, but not a certainty.
Although a close family member suffering from dementia increases the risk in their relatives, dementia is usually not inherited by the next generation. This shows that Alzheimer's disease is not a hereditary disease, but possessing certain genes may increase the risk of developing it.
Genetic causes of dementia
If a parent has a mutated gene that causes FAD, each child has a 50% chance of inheriting it. The presence of the gene means that the person will eventually develop Alzheimer's disease, usually in their 40s or 50s.
There's no certain way to prevent all types of dementia, as researchers are still investigating how the condition develops. However, there's good evidence that a healthy lifestyle can help reduce your risk of developing dementia when you're older.
Although getting older is the biggest risk factor for dementia, evidence shows there are things you can do to help reduce your own risk. These include keeping active, eating healthily and exercising your mind.
The greatest known risk factor for Alzheimer's and other dementias is increasing age, but these disorders are not a normal part of aging. While age increases risk, it is not a direct cause of Alzheimer's. Most individuals with the disease are 65 and older.
Frontotemporal dementia
FTD is most often diagnosed in people between the ages of 45 and 65. This is different to Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies, which all become more likely as people get older.
Is there a genetic test for dementia? Yes. It is possible to be tested for single-gene changes and some of the risk variants linked to dementia. However, genetic testing for dementia is not always appropriate.
Introduction: The five-word test (5WT) is a serial verbal memory test with semantic cuing. It is proposed to rapidly evaluate memory of aging people and has previously shown its sensitivity and its specificity in identifying patients with AD.
Yes. Women have a greater risk of developing dementia during their lifetime. In fact, around twice as many women have Alzheimer's disease – the most common type of dementia – compared to men.
The average life expectancy figures for the most common types of dementia are as follows: Alzheimer's disease – around eight to 10 years. Life expectancy is less if the person is diagnosed in their 80s or 90s. A few people with Alzheimer's live for longer, sometimes for 15 or even 20 years.
Similar to CT scans, MRIs can show whether areas of the brain have atrophied (shrunk). Repeat scans can show how a person's brain changes over time. Evidence of shrinkage may support a diagnosis of Alzheimer's or another neurodegenerative dementia but cannot indicate a specific diagnosis.
The Mini-Cog test.
A third test, known as the Mini-Cog, takes 2 to 4 minutes to administer and involves asking patients to recall three words after drawing a picture of a clock. If a patient shows no difficulties recalling the words, it is inferred that he or she does not have dementia.
The five-minute cognitive test (FCT) was designed to capture deficits in five domains of cognitive abilities, including episodic memory, language fluency, time orientation, visuospatial function, and executive function.
Patient assessment tools:
The GPCOG is a screening tool for cognitive impairment designed for use in primary care and is available in multiple languages. Mini-Cog - The Mini-Cog is a 3-minute test consisting of a recall test for memory and a scored clock-drawing test.
In addition, highly intelligent people have been found, on average, to show clinical signs of Alzheimer's later than the general population. Once they do, they decline much faster. Thought to reflect their greater mental reserves, this different pattern may call for a different approach to diagnosis.
While there seems to be no significant effect of higher intelligence on cognitive decline, there might be an association with lower dementia risk. One explanation for this finding is that more intelligent people start at a higher cognitive ability level and decline at the same speed as other people.
Dementia is caused by many different diseases or injuries that directly and indirectly damage the brain. Alzheimer disease is the most common form and may contribute to 60–70% of cases.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease causes a type of dementia that gets worse unusually fast. More common causes of dementia, such as Alzheimer's, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia, typically progress more slowly. Through a process scientists don't yet understand, misfolded prion protein destroys brain cells.
The international research team, based in the UK, Finland, US, France, New Zealand and Japan, report that lifelong social participation could alleviate dementia risk by increasing cognitive reserve, and through brain maintenance by reducing stress and improving cerebrovascular health.