“Aren’t You Afraid of Developing Alzheimer’s?”

“Arent’ you afraid of developing Alzheimer’s since your mother and aunt had it?” I’m often asked. 

I was caregiver for them and experienced their journey through Alzheimer’s from that aspect.  I’ve wondered, too, if this disease ran in families.  Mother and Auntie had two brothers who didn’t show any signs of Alzheimer’s.

However, I don’t have time to worry about my getting the disease and come to a halt to my life.  I do glance through articles and studies that give information about the possibilities of Alzheimer’s running in families.

According to Dr. S. Brent Ridge, in an article, My Parent Had Alzheimer’s: Will I Have It too? in Yahoo Health, it isn’t too likely.  He goes on to explain about the two types of Alzheimer’s: Familial Alzheimer’s Disease (FAD) and Late-onset Alzheimer’s Disease.

Familial Alzheimer’s is inherited, but very, very rare, affecting less than 10% of the population.  Late-onset Alzheimer’s affects most Alzheimer’s patients and isn’t inherited. 

(Read more details in Dr. Ridge’s article.)