5.8 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease (the most common form of dementia) as of 2020, according to the CDC. "It's important for those over 65 to be aware of the early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's and consider a cognitive assessment every 5 years to be proactive," says Melanie Keller, ND. Here are five warning signs of Alzheimer's—including the specific gene associated with the disease.

40-65% of people who are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease carry the APOE-e4 gene—the gene associated with the strongest risk of Alzheimer's. "When a person has an increased risk for Alzheimer's due to their family history, I recommend specific functional testing that measures Alzheimer's-associated immune reactivity to identify the early stage of neurodegenerative processes and/or to monitor the effectiveness of lifestyle modifications for Alzheimer's disease.

In my practice, I order a test that includes a person's genetic (APO-E) status since one of the three forms (APOE-e4) is the first risk gene identified that remains the gene with the strongest impact on Alzheimer's risk.

40-65% of people who are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease carry the APOE-e4 gene—the gene associated with the strongest risk of Alzheimer's. "When a person has an increased risk for Alzheimer's due to their family history, I recommend specific functional testing that measures Alzheimer's-associated immune reactivity to identify the early stage of neurodegenerative processes and/or to monitor the effectiveness of lifestyle modifications for Alzheimer's disease.

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