Study Connects Genes to Late Onset Alzheimer’s in African-Americans – NBC News

Michelle Agaston, 63, of Pittsburg, knows all too well how quickly things can change when an elderly parent develops Alzheimer’s disease.

“We started noticing little things,” Agaston says. Her mother was diagnosed at the age of 72, twelve years ago, which instantly put her family on the journey of learning about the disease and caregiving. Her mother passed away in October of 2016. Agaston was also a caregiver for her uncle, her mother’s brother, during the same time period she and her siblings were caring for her mother. Alzheimer’s seems to run in the family — her grandfather also died from the disease. Alzheimer’s continues to take a toll on more African-American families every day.

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