Recently, Vanity Fair interviewed Chris Hemsworth (aka Thor, aka dreamboat, aka I’m drooling on my desk thinking about him… don’t tell my husband) to discuss his new show, Limitless, as well as the medical revelation he got while filming the show. This revelation would have shocked anyone, even this superhero: he’s got 2 copies of the APEO*4 gene. That’s the genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). While it is uncommon to have one copy of this gene, it’s wildly uncommon to have two. But what does this mean for him? For AD in general? And for you?
Image from https://www.malefashiontrends.com.mx/2020/05/chris-hemsworth-covers-gq-australia.html
For Chris (no, we’re not on a first name basis. He has no idea who I am…. though he IS my favorite Avenger), this means that he’s got up to 10 times greater likelihood of developing AD than the average person. But even then, it’s not deterministic. It’s simply an increased risk. There are loads more factors that can impact not only the development of the disease, but also how quickly it attacks and progresses and how quickly it hinders his daily functioning. These factors include ethnicity (impacting African Americans more often than White Americans; Green et al., 2002), stress, nutrition, exercise, social engagement, and cognitive activity. In his interview, he discusses these components and tells Vanity Fair that he wants to take some time off of acting to work on these things. And, while I’m not his doctor, I concur. All of these components can lessen the impact that the disease has if it decides to hit. And the more time he takes taking care of himself, the better---though one could argue that working and acting IS social engagement, cognitive and physical exercise, and possibly stress reduction… and perhaps in making that argument, I may be biased because I love watching this man on screen (can you tell I have a crush?).
We can think about the neurons in our brain just like any other cell in our body. If we expose it to the good nutrition that it needs (in this case, vitamin B12 and omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to support brain health and reduce cellular stress; Feart, Samieri, & Barberger-Gateau, 2010), exercise it (Yu, Kolanowski, Strumpf, & Eslinger, 2006), and treat it well, it will be as healthy as it can be. AND, if we build up a back up supply of those cells, as we would if we are using our brain for social interactions and cognitive activities like memory games and reading, any loss of those cells through the disease process (through cell death and the development of plaques and tangles in the brain tissue) will impact functioning less. That is, the extra neurons can take the hit, and the other ones can take over the necessary jobs.
Image from https://www.iona.org/dementia-memory-loss-alzheimers/
So what does this mean for you? First, I’d say that we can put a reality check in place- not everyone gets AD. It’s not a guarantee with age, though that is certainly the fear many have. And in fact, it’s not even a guarantee for Chris Hemsworth. Rates of AD occurrence are at about 10% of the general population (those without the APEO*4 allele). If nothing else, these rates can ease your fear of the likelihood of developing AD. It is not guaranteed, nor is it part of the typical aging process. It is illness, not normative aging. And I think that because it is something that is awful and vivid, people think that it happens more often than it does. The other things this can mean for you are to take care of yourself. Doing the same things that Chris Hemsworth is doing: exercise (both physical and mental), lowering stress levels, improving nutrition (research supports the Mediterranean diet; Qiu et al., 2022) , and maintaining social relationships....and of course, if you are concerned about anything that seems off, see your doctor. The earlier you diagnose and start intervention, the better.
If you have more questions about this topic, or would like me to do another blog post, leave me a comment below!
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