If Your Mother Had Alzheimer’s,
You Are More At Risk
A new study published in the
‘Neurology’ journal claims that those with a maternal history of Alzheimer’s
exhibited twice the level of brain shrinkage than those with no history.
Alzheimer’s disease, of course, causes significant brain shrinkage in its
victims.
This startling study by Robyn
Honea, DPhil, claims that the findings suggest that those with a mother
who suffered Alzheimer’s demonstrate much more brain shrinkage per year
than those who had a father with the disease, or no parental history at
all.
The Alzheimer’s Association,
who have reviewed the study, maintain that the sample size for the study
was too small to deliver conclusive findings. Only 53 people were
assessed in the research.
However, the findings are
supported by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute
of Neurological Disorders.
Of the 53 subjects in the
study, all were over 60 years, and cognitively healthy at the beginning
of the research. 11 people had a maternal family history of Alzheimer’s,
10 had a paternal history and the remaining 32 had no parental history
whatsoever.
Initially all the subjects
were tested on their memory, language and cognitive skills and given brain
MRI scans. Two years later the tests were repeated, and the findings form
the basis of the study.
The findings were that:
Those with a maternal history
had about 1.5 times more brain shrinkage per year than those with a paternal
history.
Those with a mother with
Alzheimer’s had twice the gray matter shrinkage than those who had no parental
history, or a father with Alzheimer’s.
The subjects’ performance
at the cognitive tests did not change at two years.
It seems these findings are
in line with previous studies that have found maternal family history is
linked to an increased risk for Alzheimer’s. However, researchers
in the field have not come up with any conclusive findings that indicate
the genetic link.
So whilst this recent study
seems to have replicated previous research, the medical and scientific
profession, are still campaigning for more extensive research to be conducted.
Alzheimer’s is likely to
be affecting one in every four Americans over the coming decade, and so
for the time-being the recommendations are to take all the preventative
precautions to help delay any onset of Alzheimer’s. Get as much regular
exercise as possible, eat a healthy diet, get as much intellectual and
cognitive stimulation as you can and stay socially active.
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