Alzheimer’s Registry Aims to Wipe Out Disease

Originally from AARP Blog and posted by Sally Abrahms

What if you could play a part in preventing Alzheimer’s disease? Maybe you can. The Phoenix-based Banner Alzheimer’s Institute (BAI) has established an online registry for those at risk of developing a disease affecting more than 5.4 million Americans.

Many signing on are adult sons and daughters involved in the caregiving of a parent with Alzheimer’s. The ultra user-friendly Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry is a national initiative that connects would-be sufferers with researchers. Participants learn the latest developments in the field and have the opportunity to participate in prevention trials. There’s also an online community.

The goal is to get 100,000 people in the registry by next July. Enrollees include Nancy Hetrick, 45, and her three sisters. Hetrick’s father developed early on-set Alzheimer’s in his 50’s. His father (Hetrick’s grandfather) was one of 14 children; all developed the disease.

Hetrick’s mother and her mother’s two siblings also have Alzheimer’s. The younger women plan to participate in any prevention studies for which they’re eligible.

The registry is part of a worldwide effort to tackle a disease that may impact 7.7 million nationwide by 2030.

Research released this month suggests there may be changes in the brain more than two decades before the first signs of Alzheimer’s surface. A study underway between the National Institutes of Health, BAI, the University of Antioquia in Colombia and Genentech is focused on cognitively healthy participants expected to get Alzheimer’s because of family history.

The group is studying 300 Colombians from an extended family who share a rare genetic mutation that usually brings on Alzheimer’s around age 45 and also will involve participants from the United States.

Two Alzheimer’s factoids:

1. Recent research conducted by Edge Research of 1,024 adults ages 18-75 shows nearly half of American adults have a personal connection to Alzheimer’s
2. 7 out of 10 worry they or someone they love will have memory loss or Alzheimer’s

Would you consider joining a registry for Alzheimer’s or another disease with a genetic component? What is your biggest worry about getting Alzheimer’s?

Follow Sally Abrahms at www.sallyabrahms.com and on Twitter. Take a look at her November AARP Bulletin story on the emotional side of caregiving.