Alzheimer’s risk is hereditary
Men and women whose mothers had Alzheimer’s Disease appear to be at greater risk of the disease themselves, because the brains of these individuals are not using glucose efficiently.
A family history of Alzheimer’s Disease is a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s and those with an affected parent have a four to ten greater risk.
A study by the New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Centre has highlighted that the maternal risk for the disease in the offspring is evolved through reduced brain metabolism.
Researcher, Dr Lisa Mosconi ,said that “our new study shows that subjects with a mother with Alzheimer’s show similarities with Alzheimer’s patients.
“They have metabolic reductions in the brain regions that are typically affected by Alzheimer’s, which worsens over time”.
The NYU research found that if the maternally transmitted reduced glucose metabolism was a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, then it would be of value to search for potential mechanisms of the disease, in order to develop therapies to prevent or delay the onset of the disease.
