In recent studies, it has been discovered that if your father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, it's possible that he can pass it down to you. This is due to the greater spread of tau proteins in their brains, when they develop Alzheimer's. Up to now, it's always been believed, that the risk of Alzheimer's being passed down, was based on the mothers, we learn now, that this isn't the case. Women, however are still more at risk than men are of developing Alzheimer's, because they tend to have a heavier build-up of tau in their brains, making them more susceptible. According to HealthDay, it's also likely that more women develop Alzheimer's than men because, on average, they tend to live longer.
When reading this article, I found it interesting that Fathers are able to pass Alzheimer's disease down, because, I was only aware that mothers could pass it down. Even on TV shows, we only ever see mothers developing the disease. I feel like, now knowing it's possible for our fathers to pass the disease down, it shines a new light on this devastating disease.
It's interesting that women are at a higher risk for Alzheimers than men. I wonder if genetically, there's a reason why women tend to have more tau build up in their brains than men. Alzheimers is also the most common form of dementia, and affects most people throughout their lifetime. There is no cure for Alzheimer's, but understanding how it develops could help!
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