Maternal Alzheimer’s disease linked to ‘increased risk’ of condition | My news from London

New research suggests that if your mother has a history of Alzheimer’s disease, you may be more likely to develop the condition. The study indicates that whether you inherit Alzheimer’s risk from your mother or father could influence the likelihood that brain changes lead to the disease.

After studying 4,400 adults aged 65 to 85 who had memory loss and problem-solving difficulties, researchers found that those with a history of Alzheimer’s on their mother’s side, or both parents, had levels of increased protein (amyloids) linked to Alzheimer’s disease in the brain. This suggests that consideration of gender-specific parental history could be crucial in identifying adults at increased risk for the condition.

Lead author Hyun-Sik Yang, a neurologist at Mass General Brigham, USA, and a behavioral neurologist, said: “Our study found that if participants had a family history on their mother’s side, a higher level of amyloid was seen.”

READ MORE: The latest NHS plan will see older patients get ‘MOTs of health’ at A&E entrances

Mabel Seto, first author and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Neurology at Brigham, added, “If your father had early-onset symptoms, that’s associated with increased levels in the offspring. However, it does not matter when your mother. started to develop symptoms if he did at all, is associated with increased amyloid”.

Researchers looked at the family history of older adults in a study aimed at preventing Alzheimer’s disease. Participants were questioned about the point at which their parents began to experience memory loss, with the scientists looking at whether there was an official diagnosis or autopsy confirmation of Alzheimer’s disease.

The study then cross-referenced these responses with amyloid levels in asymptomatic individuals, revealing that any history of memory problems on the mother’s side, and early-onset memory problems on the father’s side, correlated with higher amyloid deposits. Interestingly, the research indicated that a history of late-onset memory difficulties, exclusively on the father’s side, was unrelated to elevated amyloid levels.

Ms. Seto expressed intrigue at the study’s findings, especially since Alzheimer’s disease is more common in women. She noted, “It’s really interesting from a genetic perspective to see that one sex contributes something that the other sex doesn’t.”

In addition, Ms. Seto pointed out that the results remained consistent regardless of the biological sex of the study participants. The team behind the research now aims to expand their investigation to understand how parental history influences cognitive decline and amyloid build-up over time, and why maternal DNA is a factor.

These findings were detailed in the journal Jama Neurology.

Get London’s biggest stories straight to your inbox. Sign up to MyLondon’s The 12 HERE for the biggest 12 stories every day.