Family Longevity May Delay Onset Of Dementia.

Reuters (5/7, Seaman) reports that according to a study published online May 6 in JAMA Neurology, the offspring of people who are long-lived appear to develop symptoms of dementia later than other people. Nevertheless, by the time people reach their nineties, the rate of Alzheimer’s appears to be about the same percentage as those from families that are not so long-lived.

HealthDay (5/7, Reinberg) reports that researchers “followed more than 1,800 participants (1,510 family members and 360 spouses as “controls”) in the US-Danish Long Life Family Study, which is evaluating genetic and non-genetic factors associated with extreme longevity.” Next, investigators “looked at the onset of Alzheimer’s disease among blood relatives within long-living families and compared that with similar data on their spouses.” Notably, the “sons and daughters, average age 70, of exceptionally long-lived people had less than half the risk of Alzheimer’s disease than their similarly aged spouses.”

Related Links:

— “Could family longevity protect against dementia?, “Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters, May 6, 2013.

Posted in In The News.