Alzheimer's blood test - why?

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/alzheimers-diagnosis-treatment-blood-test-b2482854.html

There is no cure or preventative medicine 

Would you really want to know? 

From memory I recall a doctor saying  somewhere that the layer people find out themselves the better....same for Parkinson's 

Once you know then maybe the anxiety has the potential to ruins years more of your life than needed?

Edited January 23 by Bedfordshire Bronco

[JonM]

25 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/alzheimers-diagnosis-treatment-blood-test-b2482854.html

There is no cure or preventative medicine 

There are numerous lifestyle changes that affect your risk. Both cardiovascular fitness and strength, diet, sleep all show strong epidemiological correlation with delaying the onset of it. Of course, all of those things have an impact on cancer, heart disease etc. too so you don't need an Alzheimers test to tell you to do something.

HRT for menopausal women, particularly those with the APOE e4 gene variant that has markedly higher risk for Alzheimers, is another thing that would likely be recommended.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

2 hours ago, JonM said:

There are numerous lifestyle changes that affect your risk. Both cardiovascular fitness and strength, diet, sleep all show strong epidemiological correlation with delaying the onset of it. Of course, all of those things have an impact on cancer, heart disease etc. too so you don't need an Alzheimers test to tell you to do something..

Yes those lifestyle factors are important full stop. People should be doing them anyway (like I do) 

Stress is a risk factor for Alzheimer's.....frankly if I was told I might expect Alzheimer's them my associated stress level increase would definitely accelerate it's progress .....and the progress if heart disease etc 

I think I'd rather not know and just carry on being as healthy as I can 

[JonM]

Reading the science reports, it seems like one advantage is that you can much more easily detect who currently has it - a blood test is much easier/cheaper than PET scans or lumbar punctures, which means that it should be possible to do mass screening. And it seems likely that starting the current treatments we do have much earlier will be much more effective than waiting for the actual symptoms to show up - once the damage to the brain is done, it is probably irreversible, but treatments to effectively prevent/ delay rather than cure can be used.

[CanaBull]

I understand the reasoning but I suppose it's dependent on the individual.  I know I'd want to know every bit of information as soon as possible so I can better plan a response.  I tend to worry more about what I don't know than what I do.

[Bedford Roughyed]

7 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Would you really want to know? 

Would I work until I'm 67 before retiring if I knew I'm likely to only have a few years to go? 

 

(counter point, if I blow my retirement early then live without issue to 100, that might not be great either...)

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

20 hours ago, Bedford Roughyed said:

Would I work until I'm 67 before retiring if I knew I'm likely to only have a few years to go? 

 

(counter point, if I blow my retirement early then live without issue to 100, that might not be great either...)

I suppose it would affect pension plans 

Think it would just make the rest of my non -Alzheimer years left miserable 

[graveyard johnny]

the greedy drug companies can sell sell sell more chemical sweeties earlier to make their shareholders richer and richer

[JohnM]

Speaking as someone who lost father-in-law to the consequences of Alzheimer's many years ago, and who lost a mother-in-law to vascular dementia  just a few years ago, it's not just the sufferer that is affected. It's those around the patient that have to live with it, frustrated, helpless and fearful of going the same way. Coping with dementia is expensive for all concerned. The earlier it is diagnosed, the better the chances of putting a coping strategy in place. For example, we're in the process of moving house to accomodation more suited to the elderly, in a location closer to family who can more easily and equitably share any load that Alzheimer's and other complaints of old age may impose. We're doing it when we are in control of the process rather than waiting until circumstances force a move.