I Want To Take The Alzheimer's Test

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Last night I had trouble getting to sleep.  Tossing and turning, I attempted to clear my thoughts, but my brain had other ideas.  My mind was on an instant replay loop: A new study reveals researchers have developed a blood test that will predict if a healthy person — someone with no symptoms — is likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease within the next few years.

The study focused on people over 70 and was about 90 percent accurate.

You can read what CNN had to say about this latest Alzheimer’s study.

The test isn’t available to the general public just yet, but it (or other tests) will be coming soon.

This news raises the question: Will people want to know?

For some diseases, it makes total sense.

As I lay awake last night, I couldn’t help think of my friend, Becky, whose mother died of ovarian cancer.  A few years ago, Becky underwent genetic testing to determine if she was at risk for the same disease.

Thankfully, testing showed Becky didn’t carry the gene that would predispose her to ovarian cancer.  If the test had come back positive, however, she could have opted for surgery to remove her ovaries and pursued further treatment.  If needed, these preemptive steps would have meant that Becky’s chances of developing ovarian cancer could have been greatly reduced.  She wasn’t necessarily sentenced to die in the same way her mother had.

This isn’t true of Alzheimer’s disease.

With Alzheimer’s there is no cure and no effective treatments to control or manage the disease.  Yes, there are a few memory medications and adopting an ultra-healthy lifestyle could help stave off the disease for a short time.

But the stark reality is that nothing and no one can stop Alzheimer’s.

Even so, I want to know.

There is a lot of Alzheimer’s disease in my family.  Both of my grandmothers had it and so did my parents.  Each of my parents had a sibling who battled the disease.  The odds are probably not in my favor.

If the test were available, I’d have it done tomorrow.

Would I be afraid?  Absolutely.

But, for me, knowing is better than wondering.  And I do wonder.

It’s on my mind daily, but usually more in an abstract way.  It’s late at night, when I toss and turn and attempt to clear the chatter in my brain, that I can’t help wondering if Alzheimer’s will also be my fate.

I want to know.  What about you?

Nancy Wurtzel is a public relations professional and creative writer.  She pens Dating Dementia (www.datingdementia.com), a mostly humorous and sometimes twisted blog about making big changes at midlife.  Read about Nancy's journey through divorce, moving across country, empty nest issues, baby boomer challenges, dating, and her caretaking experiences with an aging parent with Alzheimer's disease.