I'm terrified I'll die of Alzheimer's like my dad: Sharon

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Press Trust of India London
Last Updated : Jan 20 2015 | 12:15 PM IST
Former 'X Factor' judge Sharon Osbourne says a recent genome test revealed she has two of the four genes responsible for the debilitating form of dementia.
Osbourner, 62, who has battled cancer, said she is terrified of dying due to Alzheimer's like her father, reported Daily Mirror.
"Ozzy and I had these tests done at a university in England, and the results took three months to come back. They test every single cell, chromosome and gene in your body; it's like a DNA test but a million times more sophisticated.
"The results showed I have two of the four genes that give it to you. They're not the two major genes, but they're still there and I have them," she said.
Osbourne's music mogul father Don Arden suffered from the disease, from which 850,000 people are suffering in the UK.
"I was terrified because my dad died from Alzheimer's. It is the most soul-destroying disease. To see someone you love come down with it... It's wicked, it really is.
"There is nothing I can do to prevent it, nothing. People say to take cod liver oil and do puzzles and things, but then I look at people diagnosed with dementia. My father was super active mentally, and take Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan... they were all so active, and that's what really frightens me.
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First Published: Jan 20 2015 | 12:15 PM IST

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