Both parents carry APOE4

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Nannies23
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Both parents carry APOE4

Post by Nannies23 »

I have the APOE4 Gene. With all the reading I’m doing I realize that I inherited it from both parents. Neither of my parents had AD, they were 73 and 75 when they passed. No one in my entire large family had AD. That includes both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and lots of cousins, on both sides. My question is, does this mean my 7 siblings also carry the APOE 4 Gene? Does this mean my cousins have at least 1 copy of the 4 Gene?
Kenny4/4
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Re: Both parents carry APOE4

Post by Kenny4/4 »

Do you have 1 or 2 copies of apoE4? You inherit 2 copies.
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slacker
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Re: Both parents carry APOE4

Post by slacker »

Nannies23 wrote:I have the APOE4 Gene. With all the reading I’m doing I realize that I inherited it from both parents. Neither of my parents had AD, they were 73 and 75 when they passed. No one in my entire large family had AD. That includes both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and lots of cousins, on both sides. My question is, does this mean my 7 siblings also carry the APOE 4 Gene? Does this mean my cousins have at least 1 copy of the 4 Gene?
Hi Nannies23;

You have 2 ApoE4 alleles, one from your mom and one from your dad. Each parent could be a 4/4, 4/3, or 4/2. If both parents only had one ApoE4, your siblings could have 2, one, or no ApoE4 genes. So without knowing exactly what combination of genes your parents had, it's hard to know what your siblings and cousins have. Given that there is no known AD in your large family, I suspect that either your parents only had one E4, family members have passed on from some other condition before the dementia manifested, or your family's lifestyle is protecting them from AD.
Hope this helps.
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cwicker
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Re: Both parents carry APOE4

Post by cwicker »

Nannies23,

Both my parents, 82 and 83 have dementia (dad severe and mom moderate). He is a E3/E4 (one copy of APOE4) and his younger brother also has dementia and his mom died of dementia. My mother's status is unknown but her sister also has dementia, though older and not as severe as mom (I suspect vascular). My brother was also an E3/E4 but died of a sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 54. I am a E3/E3 and therefore different from my sibling. From my calculations, if my mom is also an E3/E4, I had a 25% chance of not having APOE4. If my mom does not, I have a 25% percent chance of having APOE4.
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TheBrain
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Re: Both parents carry APOE4

Post by TheBrain »

Nannies23,

I’m E4/E4, and both of my parents died years ago of diseases unrelated to this gene. My father’s mother died of vascular dementia, and his sister has advanced Alzheimer’s, which she was diagnosed with in her early 80s. Initially, my sisters had no interest in determining their ApoE status, but then one of them developed a serious medical issue. She decided to do 23&me and learned she is E3/E3. That’s a huge relief, but she still has this medical issue going on, and they haven’t been able to diagnose it.

Anyway, because of my sister’s E3/E3 status, I now know that both of my parents were E3/E4.

Perhaps you can determine your parents’ ApoE status at some point, if some of your siblings get tested.
ApoE 4/4 - When I was in 7th grade, my fellow students in history class called me "The Brain" because I had such a memory for detail. I excelled at memorization and aced tests. This childhood memory helps me cope!
Nannies23
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Re: Both parents carry APOE4

Post by Nannies23 »

Out of 7 siblings, ages 72 to 60, only one is thinking about getting tested. The others don’t want to know or think the test is wrong because of our family history.
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Re: Both parents carry APOE4

Post by Harrison »

I will borrow from a previous post on this: https://www.apoe4.info/forums/viewtopic ... 804#p38804
Using typical US/European apoE4 frequencies and knowing nothing about parents, I came up with the following chances for siblings of an apoE4/4 carrier (where X=E2 or E3):
EX/X: 21%
E4/X: 50%
E4/4: 29%

It is quite possible that your parents are ApoE3/4 and/or your family carries a variety of protective variants. There is also no certainty that an E4/4 carrier will develop AD. Here is the statement on AD likelihood with ApoE4 from the Banner Institute's Generation Study:
The Generation Study elected to disclose the following “lifetime” risks of MCI or dementia to its potential participants: 30%–55% for individuals with APOE-e4/e4; 20%–25% for individuals with APOE-e3/e4 and -e2/e4 (with a note that risk might be lower for those with APOE-e2/e4); and 10%–15% for individuals with APOE-e3/e3, -e3/e2, and -e2/e2 (with a note that risk might be lower for those with APOE-e2/e3 and -e2/e2). These values are consistent with our findings, but use round numbers for intelligibility, and broader ranges to reflect statistical and other sources of uncertainty.
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