Our study shows that high blood pressure and an innate pro-inflammatory cytokine response in middle age significantly contributers to Alzheimer's disease.Source Vascular Factors and Markers of Inflammation in Offspring With a Parental History of Late-Onset Alzheimer Disease -- Archives of General Psychiatry
As these risk factors cluster in families, it is important to realize that early interventions could prevent late-onset Alzheimer's disease.
One could argue for a high-risk prevention strategy by identifying the offspring of patients with Alzheimer's disease, screening them for hypertension and vascular factors and implementing various non-pharmacological health measures.
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In addition...
The APOEε4 genotype was more common among the offspring who had a parent with Alzheimer's disease (47 percent) than among the offspring with no parent with the disease (21 percent). The offspring of a parent with Alzheimer's disease also had higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures and lower ankle brachial indices than an offspring without a parent with the disease.
This dovetails with my previous articles on --Worried About Alzheimer's?
- High blood pressure (hypertension) causes build-up of beta-amyloid in the brain. Beta-amyloid is a central component of the senile plaque in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, and its toxicity against brain cells is believed to be a prime cause of Alzheimer's.
- High cholesterol in your 40s increases the odds of contracting Alzheimer's--by 50 percent.
- There are at least 18 research studies showing that exercise can improve memory in people suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
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Bob DeMarco is the editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room and an Alzheimer's caregiver. The Alzheimer's Reading Room is the number one website on the Internet for news, advice, and insight into Alzheimer's disease. Bob has written more than 950 articles with more than 8,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.
Original content Bob DeMarco, Alzheimer's Reading Room
