A portrait of John with his mum.Hello – I’m John and I’m the author of this blog. That’s me with my mum. By day I’m a high school teacher in Edinburgh, Scotland, teaching Psychology and Religious Studies to 11-18 year olds.

My life changed forever in 1991, when a rare genetic disorder was discovered in my family. My grandfather had developed symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease a couple of years before I was born in the 1980s. That in itself wasn’t too unusual – almost a million people are living with the condition in the UK, and it is now the top cause of death for women. What was unusual was that he developed the illness in his 50s – and so did five of his eight siblings. My mum knew that something wasn’t quite right, and wrote to research teams across the UK to try and solve the mystery of the plague of illness blighting our family. What they found was a mutation of a single gene on chromosome 21, which results in sticky amyloid protein building up and forming plaques in the brains of carriers – the first cause of Alzheimer’s disease ever discovered. The mutation is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, which means that if I have inherited the gene, then I will develop Alzheimer’s myself, without fail. It is a fate I cannot avoid.

Since the discovery of our family mutation, my life has changed dramatically. My mother is now in the late stages of the disease and I myself am involved with research, hoping that one day we can find a treatment that dramatically improves the life of all people with dementia, not just younger people or those with a genetic form of the condition.

I do not believe, unfortunately, that lifestyle interventions can stop a genetic inevitability, and I don’t believe any of the interventions on this blog will stop me from developing Alzheimer’s disease if I have inherited the mutated gene. I do believe that living a healthy life helps us to make the most of what we have, however. I also think that living well might potentially push back the onset of disease, and extend the number of healthful and productive years before symptoms start to impact on our lives. I believe small daily acts can potentially delay the onset of dementia – hence the title of this blog – and I am determined to do what I can to live well. Hopefully I can inspire you to do the same.

 

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