’Toss of a coin’ if I’d inherit dementia gene

Imagine being told that you had a 50/50 chance of inheriting early-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Would you take a test to find out? Or continue to live your life not knowing?

That’s the situation that faced Laura Sides. She began to notice strange changes in her father’s behaviour when she was at university - and soon learned that he had an incredibly rare form of Alzheimer’s – making up just 1% in the world. Not only that, but it was, in her words, “a toss of a coin" whether she had it too. 

Laura tells Dr Sian Williams how she coped with her father’s illness, whilst also deciding whether to discover her own fate. 

Producer: Sarah Shebbeare