Alzheimer's: Double Jeopardy

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The plight of having one parent with the mind-robbing disease, Alzheimer's, would be tough enough, but imagine it striking both parents. A recent study suggests that when both parents have the disease, their children face an increased risk of developing the condition.

In a study of 111 families, where both parents were affected with Alzheimer‘s, researchers found that more than 22 percent of their adult children had the disease themselves. This compares to prior studies, finding that 6 to13 percent of the U.S. population over 65 will develop the disease.

Alzheimer's typically starts about age 65 in adults who have two affected parents, and the odds of developing Alzheimer's grew with age. Also, the risk of developing Alzheimer's at an earlier age increases if additional relatives are affected with the disease.

In the study, diagnoses were confirmed through medical records, autopsies, and examination by researchers. The parents studied had 297 children who lived to adulthood, and 67 of those children had Alzheimer's. Of the 240 children who have not been affected, 78 percent have not yet reached their 70s and 80s, when disease claims most of its victims. Of the 98 children who have reached age 70, 41 of them (or about 42%,) had already developed Alzheimer's disease.

Experts have agreed that genetics plays a role in Alzheimer's disease, but the degree to which genetics is responsible for the disease is still unclear. "There probably is an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease in the children of spouses that both have the disease," said lead researcher Dr. Thomas D. Bird, a professor of neurology at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. "The exact magnitude of the risk, we don't know yet."

Bird's group is trying to determine the genetic factors at play. So far, only one genetic factor has been documented. "The hope is, there will be others and they will be found," Bird said. "Presumably, these children would have a higher concentration of those factors. So, that's what ought to be looked for."

Dr. Bird said he was uncomfortable saying the normal risk tripled or quadrupled in people with two affected parents, because the study was small and had no comparison group. "What I'm comfortable saying is that risk is increased and we're working on trying to find out what the magnitude is."

To date, there is no cure for the more than 26 million people worldwide estimated to have Alzheimer's, but there is strong hope that by the time many reach the age of risk, there will be better intervention methods.

The study, appearing in March's Archives of Neurology, was funded by the National Institute on Aging and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs