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Recently, Chris Hemsworth learned something concerning his health that has him concerned about the future. The actor, who portrays the powerful God of Thunder “Thor” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently spoke candidly about having a hereditary predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease in an interview with Vanity Fair.
Hemsworth, who frequently posts physical exercise videos to his social media accounts, was filming the National Geographic docuseries “Limitless” when, after undergoing a series of genetic testing, he learned what his “greatest fear” was. According to the Vanity Fair article, the Australian actor has two copies of the gene APOE4 in his DNA, one from each parent. APOE4 has been associated in multiple studies to an elevated risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that causes the brain to shrink (atrophy) and the brain cells to die. The disease is a form of dementia, which is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life.
What is the APOE4 gene?
Three different forms of the gene exist: APOE4, APOE3, and APOE2. If a person possesses one APOE4 gene, their risk of developing Alzheimer’s increases by two to three times; if they possess two, their risk may rise by eight to twelve times, according to Dr. Praveen Gupta, director of neurology at Fortis Hospital Gurugram.
Alzheimer’s disease is not caused by APOE4, but it does enhance the risk of developing it, which is then altered by environmental and other variables. Unfortunately, at this time, we are unable to alter the gene to lower the chance of Alzheimer’s, the doctor stated.
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In agreement, Dr. Annu Agarwal of the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai, who specializes in cognitive and behavioral neurology, noted that while everyone possesses the apolipoprotein E gene, those who have a particular subtype of the gene are more likely to acquire Alzheimer’s disease.
Common symptoms of Alzheimer’s
Dr Vinay Goyal, director-neurology, Institute of Neurosciences, Medanta Hospital, Gurugram listed them as follows:
*Increased memory loss and confusion — for example, people frequently forget what they had for breakfast, who they met in the morning, and so on.
*Loss of recent memory over time; people tend to remember only things from their childhood.
*Lack of ability to learn new things.
*Language difficulties, as well as difficulties reading, writing, and working with numbers.
*Difficulty organising thoughts and reasoning.
*Short attention span
*Inability to identify and locate places; for example, some people are unable to locate their rooms and bathrooms in the house.
*Lack of time orientation
*Disturbed sleep
