In the first study published about Alzheimer’s disease among identical triplets, researchers in Canada suggest that the development of dementia is not exclusively linked to our genes.
The study by scientists at Baycrest and its Rodman Research Institute found that despite sharing the same DNA, only two of the triplets developed Alzheimer’s in their late 70s. At the time of the study, all three of the 85-year-old siblings had high blood pressure but only two ended up developing dementia.
“These findings show that your genetic code doesn’t dictate whether you are guaranteed to develop Alzheimer’s,” said Dr. Morris Freedman, a senior author on the paper, head of neurology at Baycrest and a scientist at Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute.
