Thursday, November 28, 2013

Is Dementia Hereditary

By Jack Morgan


It is important to know if dementia is a hereditary disease or not. There are many experts who believe that this disease is a hereditary condition. It means that this disease can be passed through families. You should read this article when you want to know about this disease. There are two main types of dementia. They are early onset and late onset dementia problem.

In Latin, dementia literally means madness since the condition affects the parts of the brain that are concerned with attention, memory and language. The condition requires about six months before it can be diagnosed. The symptoms become incurable as the disease advances. There are several causes that have linked with causing dementia. They include brain tumors, strokes, mental deterioration and head injuries.

The dementia disease can only be thought to be inheritable if one of the family members is diagnosed with Huntington's disease. It is good for patient and family members to understand that this case is very rare.

It is rare because Huntington's disease is considered to be 'autosomal dominant'. This scientifically refers to a condition whereby dementia disease can only be inherited if there is an existence of a single gene that is faulty.

In most cases, dementia signals as a signal to Alzheimer's disease. Most Alzheimer's sufferers experience vascular dementia which is one of the forms of dementia associated with occurrence of strokes. There are four genes that have been identified and connected with the development of the disease. Three of them affect younger people while one affects older people. People with these genes resulting from family members with an early onset are highly susceptible to developing the condition in their late ages. However, these genes are rare and are transmitted from the parent to their children on a 50 percent basis. This means probably half of the children in a family could have the condition.

They are several types of early onset dementia problems. All of them are caused by mutated genes in certain families. These diseases can be called as hereditary situation. It means that you are able to get these diseases from your parents. All early onset dementia problems are caused by mutated genes.

The best step people should take is to know about their family history even after understanding that it is not mandatory hereditary. If you have a clue about your family history, you will be in a position to predict what may happen in future. Research done at various institutions has been able to establish if the right family history is analysed, a doctor can be able to inform you about the chances of inheriting or passing it to your children.

This is the answer for people who ask, "Is Dementia Hereditary?". Some dementia problems are caused by hereditary problems. These problems are usually called as early onset dementia. Some other dementia situations are caused by losing brain's function. Therefore, you should talk to your doctors to find the real answer for your dementia.

Most forms of this condition cannot actually be cured. However, taking the recommended medication and making the right lifestyle choices can greatly slow down the process. Families with a dementia history should have their family members regularly screened to ensure early diagnosis. Doctors can advise patients on the best prescription drugs according to their conditions. Eating right and exercises have a great influence on slowing down the progress of dementia.




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