apoe4 children have lower IQ`s ?

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TheresaB
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Re: apoe4 children have lower IQ`s ?

Post by TheresaB »

This article APOE4: Potential cognitive benefits of the major Alzheimer’s risk gene addresses research that wasn't conducted on children, but nevertheless this is what was found:
In 398 study participants who do not have memory and thinking problems, having the APOE4 gene and the presence of b-amyloid in the brain had opposing effects on object identification, with APOE4 predicting better recall and amyloid build-up predicting poorer recall. APOE4 carriers were also able to recall locations more precisely.

The results, suggesting better visual working memory in those with APOE4, suggests that there are some benefits of this gene in the older age, and even when proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease are building up.
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Re: apoe4 children have lower IQ`s ?

Post by DistinguishedHeathen »

Odd, I've found research suggesting otherwise. I've been very fortunate on this front -- IQ measured at 152 as a child, skipped ahead two grades in school, went on to graduate valedictorian from college (4.0) and with a 4.0 from grad school (not that I'm an education elitist, many brilliant people never get the opportunities I had, this is just a crude proxy).

That said, I've been increasingly disheartened to see my once-brilliant mom succumb so rapidly to Alzheimer's -- so much so that it's shaken my faith in cognitive reserve buying time. Though I don't know what mom's IQ was, she graduated college at 19 and was an aerospace engineer at the top of her field for 37 years. She also had a vast vocabulary, was a voracious reader, and was (and occasionally, bizarrely, still is) incredibly fast at mathematical calculations.

But now, at just 72 and in early(ish) Alzheimer's, she struggles to grasp many basic concepts and just today asked for my help in spelling the words "vegetable," "anemia," and "medical." Just five years ago, mom could hold a serious, nuanced conversation about politics/literature/art/ethics. She's a 3/4 (like me), and witnessing her rapid plummet is as terrifying as it is gutting. Cognitive reserve be damned.
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Re: apoe4 children have lower IQ`s ?

Post by MiniJunkie »

My 3 kids definitely each have at least 1 copy (since I have 2)...but all three are top of their class, play piano, and my daughter is active in 3 kinds of dance classes. All are very creative as well. I think nurture/environment plays a much bigger role.
49M, married with 3 kids, my mother has advanced Alzheimer’s, and I am 4/4
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