Clues to escaping Alzheimer's
Doug Whitney inherited the same gene mutation that gave Alzheimer’s disease to his mother, brother and generations of other relatives by the unusually young age of 50. Yet he’s a healthy 73, his mind still sharp. Somehow, the Washington man escaped his genetic fate. That’s incredibly rare. But then researchers discovered a woman in Colombia who dodged her own family’s similar Alzheimer’s destiny for nearly three decades, before dying of cancer. To scientists, these remarkable “escapees” didn’t just get lucky. They offer an unprecedented opportunity to learn how the body may naturally resist Alzheimer’s.
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Scientists are digging into why a few people escape the rarest form of Alzheimer's, which is inherited and strikes young.
