Family risk of Alzheimer’s disease

alzheimer
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. Many people who have relatives with this disease worry that it may run in the family. Does having a family member with Alzheimer’s disease increase your risk of developing it?

If your family member has Alzheimer’s disease, does that mean you’ll get it too?

“There’s a truly inherited form of the disease called familial Alzheimer’s disease, early-onset Alzheimer’s disease,” says Dr. Ronald Petersen, of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Petersen says people with this rare, genetic form of…

Read more…