Girlfriend and I have Gs141, what will our children have?

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amateurscientist
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Girlfriend and I have Gs141, what will our children have?

Post by amateurscientist »

Hey,

We just got genetic data for my girlfriend and it shows we both carry carry one APOE-ε3 allele and one APOE-ε4 allele. If we decide to have children, what will the child inherit regarding risk for Alzheimers?

I cant find much info online

Thanks a lot for your help!
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Tincup
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Re: Girlfriend and I have Gs141, what will our children have?

Post by Tincup »

By inspection, your children's probabilities:
E3, E3 25%
E3, E4 50%
E4, E4 25%

You E3 E4
GF E3 E4

All the combinations
E3 E3
E3 E4
E3 E4
E4 E4
Tincup
E3,E4
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slacker
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Re: Girlfriend and I have Gs141, what will our children have?

Post by slacker »

Hi amateurscientist (or citizen scientist!),

Welcome to the website. Here is one of our wiki articles discussing risk of getting Alzhemier's, including ApoE status.
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Re: Girlfriend and I have Gs141, what will our children have?

Post by NF52 »

amateurscientist wrote:Hey,

We just got genetic data for my girlfriend and it shows we both carry carry one APOE-ε3 allele and one APOE-ε4 allele. If we decide to have children, what will the child inherit regarding risk for Alzheimers?

I cant find much info online

Thanks a lot for your help!
Hi amateurscientist from someone whose parents were probably like you two: each with one copy of ApOE 3 and one ApOE 4--what we call "ApoE 3/4".

Since I have ApoE 4/4 and am healthy, with the ability to be on committees and have projects and play with my grandkids 2 days a week and plan trips, I don't see it as such a big problem. That doesn't mean it's not a risk--I exercise more now and weigh less and sleep better than I did 20 years ago when I had a 60 hour a week job and 3 teenagers and a mother with Alzheimer's. My adult children are all in their 30's and like you and your girlfriend, they are all ApoE 3/4. One is a vegan; the other two are more Mediterranean diet; all like exercise and keeping their minds active. The research on ApoE 4 and cognitive health in general is exploding, with the current estimate that 40% of case of dementia could be prevented with public health policy (discouraging smoking and highly processed foods, promoting activity with bikes lanes and walking paths, providing clean water and air and health care to all) and individual choices.

Your LIFETIME Risk is likely less than the 20-25% risk of a diagnosis by age 85 that someone my age would have with ApoE 3/4:
APOE-related risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia for prevention trials: An analysis of four cohorts

So, if I were acting like a mom, I would say "live your life; if you have children they will be a joy and a source of consternation no matter what you do! Focus on using some of the strategies in our Primer, written by a doctor who is herself ApoE 4/4 and who describes clearly what good basic strategies to start using, and where the science is not yet settled." And most of all, I would say: Be well; we need your generation to lead us into the future!
4/4 and still an optimist!
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