Knowing Your Alzheimer’s Risk Might Change Your Habits—and Not for the Better

If you had the opportunity to know your odds of developing Alzheimer’s in the not-too-distant future, would you take it? And how might the knowledge change you? Research this week is among the first to try answering that second question. Scientists in Israel and the U.S. conducted the study, which surveyed hundreds of people before and after they received a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan to assess their Alzheimer’s risk status. Regardless of whether they tested positive or negative for increased Alzheimer’s risk, their mental health remained stable. That said, people did become less motivated to maintain healthy lifestyle habits that could reduce their dementia risk, the study found. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, currently affecting over 7 million Americans. There is still some debate over how Alzheimer’s develops, but one of its defining characteristics is a build-up of amyloid beta plaques in the brain (plaques being the hardy clumps of a misfolded form ... Read full article.