Posted by Michael Wonder on 19 Nov 2017
What if you knew Alzheimer’s was coming for you?
17 November 2017 - Simple blood tests may soon be able to deliver alarming news about your cognitive health.
Six years ago, at age 49, Julie Gregory paid an online service to sequence her genes, hoping to turn up clues about her poor circulation, blood-sugar swings and general ill health. Instead she learned she had a time bomb hidden in her DNA: two copies of a gene variant, ApoE4, that is strongly linked to Alzheimer’s. Most Americans with this genotype go on to develop late-onset dementia.
“Alzheimer’s was the furthest thing from my mind,” Ms. Gregory told me. “I never thought I was at risk. When I saw my results, I was terrified.”
