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Dementia and Alzheimer's

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APOE4 gene testing

5 replies

LovelyBath77 · 09/06/2018 20:40

I have a family history of dementia, so did genetic testing and I have a copy of the APOE4 gene. Feeling quite stressed about it. I wondered if anyone else had done this and what if anything to be done about it. I have looked into the Bredesden book End of Alzheimers but not convinced really and we can't get the testing etc here.

OP posts:
spugymonster · 14/06/2018 23:33

I didn't know you could get a test for it. Was it privately or nhs? Sorry to hear you're going through this. Thanks

OkapiWoman · 22/07/2018 20:14

I have 2 copies! My mother, her mother and her father all had demetia, I'm not sure I should have checked myself out. The advice is that 2 copies add up to some 60% likelyhood of getting it, so there's 40% of not, so not so bad, and much much better for you if you only have one copy, so don't worry. Also, obviously, the same old things - loose weight, excercise, eat healthily, don't smoke, and cut down on complication and stress in your life. Oh and learn another language!

AgathaMystery · 31/07/2018 23:58

Is this the private test? There is lots of confusion surrounding it from what I've researched. My friend is about to undergo NHS testing - she has been advised that APOE is not particularly useful and can cause more anxiety than anything.

OkapiWoman · 01/08/2018 07:54

Oh yes, private, quite probably not a reliable test, mine was with 23andMe, DNA ancestry test, you don’t have to look at the medical part... I’m trying to think it might not mean anything.

AgathaMystery · 01/08/2018 09:07

If you look on the NHS website for genetic testing it specifically mentions that test as being u reliable and causing unnecessary stress x

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