is senile dementia heireditry

[thegardener]

Does anyone have senile dementia in their family?
If for example my mil's mum had it would mil get it and then my dh?
When does it usually start?

I think it is hereditary but don't know much about it.

Read this for an informed view.

my nan had it when I was quite young, she had a fall and broke her hip, she went down hill from there on we were told its heireditry at the time although we all still believe it wouldnt have happened so quickly if she had not had a fall,

I dont think it is herditary actually, the only time it is considered to be so is when it is early onset i.e before the age of 60

THere are lots of causes of senile dementia. Some have a genetic cause, others do not.

Sometimes having a family history means you are at a higher risk of getting it. Other times there is no link.

It all depends what caused your MIL's mother to become senile

Lilymaid's link says everything I could say, only clearer.

My Grandma has AD, developed it in her 60s after surgery on her eye (sniff, we always thought that triggered it but she'd have got it anyway, same as you seemed to think)
Her mum had it. Although we know the evidence says it's unlikely to be hereditary, it's very worrying.

In my mum's family, two sisters are gone to Alzheimer's and 1 brother. 1 sister and 1 brother died b4 60years old, and only 1 brother left, who is 70+ and seems ok.
My mum has been showing lots of signs of it. I am worried for myself and my siblings as there does seem to be some kind of link, but there is a cure that has been found for this particular form of dementia...it's not on the market yet tho so too late for my mum.

SIW - is there? Ebixa?
I know every few months they have a 'breakthrough' (usually involving eating blackcurrants or olive oil) but after getting excited for the first few I've started taking them with a pinch of salt.
Sorry to hear about your situation - it is so worrying isn't it?

yes it is hereditary

sniff, your nan probably had a mini stroke which led to her falling.mini strokes are responsible for the worsening of dementia,which is probably why you think her dementia was worse after the fall.

Katy - yes, apparently there are quite a few, but still being tested. Some are in the human testing stages. They found out that it is caused by a type of fat that gets attached to the nerve endings in the brain and blocks the signals, thereby causing the memory loss and eventually loss of functions. Good news (hopefully) for the future is that they found a way of getting rid of the fat deposits and if you are caught in time you should be pretty much back to normal.

Btw i get my info from dh who reads teletext health pages. It made me hopeful. Hope i haven't put anyone off sounding cold about it, it's my coping mechanism, sorry.

No, cold is the only way. ATM there's nothing that can be done and it's such a horrible disease