Memory Test Suggests Alzheimer's Genes Might Show Effects in Your 20s

A new memory test taken by nearly 60,000 men and women between the ages of 18 and 85 found that participants between 18 and 65 who had family members with Alzheimer's scored lower than those who did not, according to WebMd . Study author Matt Huentelman, a professor of neurogenomics with TGen, a genetics research institute based in Phoenix, says that while many non-inherited factors play a role in Alzheimer's risk, approximately 75 percent of Alzheimer's risk is thought to be driven by genetics. The test suggests that a young person's memory may be impacted by genetic risk "as many as four decades before the typical onset of Alzheimer's disease," Huentelman states.