Everyone’s a little scared of getting older. This is perfectly natural because everyone’s a little scared of the unknown and what’s less known than our own futures? One thing which many of us may worry about is the predisposition of our families towards certain genetic conditions and just how they might come into our lives as we get older. For those with cancer or type one diabetes in the family this can be a huge concern and there are all manner of other genetic conditions which might run in your blood too. Of course just because it runs in the family doesn’t mean you’re destined to get it, it’s just an extra concern for you, an extra burden to weigh upon your mind.
Well, worry not. One condition which was long thought to be largely brought about by a specific gene has been discounted. It turns out that this gene simply isn’t the risk factor that scientists once thought it was and that this condition might not run in families nearly as predominately as it was once thought! Alzheimer’s is a condition which slowly degrades a person’s cognitive function, essentially regressing them into a child in an adult’s body. They lose who they are, the ability to look after themselves and any memories they may have had. It’s truly a terrible condition and I’d say it was one of the very worst things you could experience. For loved ones having to sit and watch as you slowly fade away, it can be a living hell.
It’s now thought that while there are certain genetic markers which might warn of a patient’s likelihood of getting cognitive impairment later in life, this doesn’t actually mean that they’ll get Alzheimer’s. Of course that doesn’t mean for certain that there isn’t a genetic marker which we simply don’t know about yet. Much more study will be needed to be done into this are before anything definitive can be taken away from it.
Comments are closed.