Having a father with Alzheimer’s may put you at greater risk of developing the disease, research today suggested.
It has long been believed that women are more likely to develop the memory-robbing condition.
This was thought to be because they live longer and age is the biggest risk factor for the disease.
But now, Canadian scientists say children who have Dad’s with Alzheimer’s are more prone to one toxic protein, tau, spreading in the brain.
Significant clumps of this protein, as well as another — amyloid — can form plaques and tangles — and this is thought to be behind the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, the leading cause of dementia.
The team, from McGill University in Montreal, said the findings suggested these children were at higher risk of the condition because of this ‘spread of tau’.
But they cautioned the findings do not prove that having a father with Alzheimer’s results in these brain changes — merely it shows an association.
Dr Sylvia Villeneuve, an associate professor in psychiatry at McGill University and study author, said: ‘We were surprised to see that people with a father with Alzheimer’s were more vulnerable to the spread of tau in the brain.
Significant clumps of both proteins can form plaques and tangle — and this is thought to be behind Alzheimer’s symptoms. Pictured, an Alzheimer’s affected brain, with abnormal levels of amyloid protein clumping together to form plaques
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. The disease can cause anxiety, confusion and short-term memory loss
‘We had hypothesized that we would see more brain changes in people with affected mothers.
‘Better understanding these vulnerabilities could help us design personalized interventions to help protect against Alzheimer’s disease.’
In the study, researchers tracked 243 people with an average age of 68, who had a family history of Alzheimer’s disease but had no thinking or memory problems themselves.
They defined family history as one or both parents with the disease or at least two siblings with the disease.
All participants underwent brain scans and thinking and memory tests.
Over a follow-up of seven years, the scientists found 71 people developed mild cognitive impairment — a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease.
Writing in the journal Neurology, they said that people who had a father with Alzheimer’s ‘had a greater spread of tau protein in the brain’.
But they also found separately that female participants had a heavier buildup of tau protein in the brain.
Around 900,000 Brits are currently thought to have the memory-robbing disorder. But University College London scientists estimate this will rise to 1.7million within two decades as people live longer. It marks a 40 per cent uptick on the previous forecast in 2017
While separate research has indicated this is the case, the scientists, however, warned that further studies were needed.
Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia in the UK.
Recent analysis by the Alzheimer’s Society estimates the overall annual cost of the dementia to the UK is £42billion a year, with families bearing the brunt.
An ageing population means these costs – which include lost earnings of unpaid carers – are set to soar to £90billion in the next 15 years.
Around 944,000 in the UK are thought to be living with dementia, while the figure is thought to be around 7million in the US.
Memory problems, thinking and reasoning difficulties and language problems are common early symptoms of the condition, which then worsen over time.
Alzheimer’s Research UK analysis found 74,261 people died from dementia in 2022 compared with 69,178 a year earlier, making it the country’s biggest killer.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .