02/10/2020
QSS Diagnostics
Please call us for additional information (972) 338-9156
Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Parkinson’s, Hereditary Genetic Diagnostic Test
QSS Diagnostics would like to help your practice by providing Hereditary Dementia-Alzheimer-Parkinson's testing for your patients.
All 47 genes in this panel have been evaluated for the presence of selected genetic variants that predispose to Parkinson’s-Dementia-Alzheimer’s diseases.
Our laboratory’s technology can accommodate a buccal swab, making it a viable alternative to a trip to the phlebotomist and reducing the impact of blood-drawing on patients’ health.
Alzheimer’s
Early Onset Familial Alzheimer’s Disease
Early onset familial Alzheimer’s disease (eFAD) is hereditary and marked by Alzheimer’s disease symptoms that appear at an unusually early age. Symptoms can start in a person’s thirties, forties, and fifties (and very rarely in the late twenties).
Having a pathogenic mutation in one of chosen genes virtually guarantees that one will develop early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Late Onset Familial Alzheimer’s Disease
Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease is a condition characterized by memory loss, cognitive decline, and personality changes developing after the age of 65. One in ten Americans age 65 and older is affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
The most important risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease is a gene called Apolipoprotein E, or APOE. This gene has a number of different alleles (alternative form of a gene, one member of a pair), called ε2, ε3, and ε4. ε2 and ε3 protect against Alzheimer’s, whereas ε4 increases your risk of developing it. Every individual has two copies of this allele, and the combination you have determines how likely you are to develop the disease.
Dementia
Frontotemporal Dementia
Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), originally called Pick’s disease, is a rarer form of dementia mostly affecting people under the age of 65. The symptoms of FTD can be quite varied but include changes that predominantly affect behavior or language.
There are different types of FTD, and these are likely to have different causes. Some people with FTD have a family history of dementia and the condition may be inherited in some of these families. For behavioral variant FTD, one third to one half of people could have a family history.
