our medical editor fergus walsh looks at the causes and symptoms of the disease. my mum started showing signs in her 50s and dad in his late 60s. fiona phillips has often spoken about the devastating impact of alzheimer s on her family. the tv presenter has told the daily mirror she was diagnosed with the disease last year and wants to raise awareness of the condition. my family, it has absolutely decimated, my mum, my dad, my uncle barry, itjust goes on and on. and they always used to say to me, it s not hereditary. well, there is something going on. alzheimer s is the most common form of dementia, and the biggest risk factor is old age. even so, one in 20 cases is diagnosed in people under 65. only about one in 100 cases of alzheimer s is directly inherited, where a faulty gene is passed on, but there are also several genes
the daily mirror she was diagnosed with the disease last year and wants to raise awareness of the condition. my family, it has absolutely decimated, my mum, my dad, my uncle barry, itjust goes on and on. and they always used to say to me, it s not hereditary. well, there is something going on. alzheimer s is the most common form of dementia, and the biggest risk factor is old age. even so, one in 20 cases is diagnosed in people under 65. only about one in 100 cases of alzheimer s is directly inherited, where a faulty gene is passed on, but there are also several genes which can increase your risk of the destructive brain disease. among the early symptoms are forgetting recent conversations or events, asking questions repetitively, and finding it harder to make decisions. our next couple are gmtv
it is just sad, because it is this life that i was living perfectly happily and then it went. everything went. long running protests eventually lead to a government apology and the launch of a full public inquiry. i would like to say sorry on behalf of the government for something that should not have happened. since 2018. prime ministers and health secretaries have all been questioned under oath. it became more and more real and more and more scary. and those directly affected, including sue, have been given the chance to have their say. we are fed up with hearing people say how sorry they are. later today the last witness will take the stand with a final report expected in the summer. i would like the truth out there. i would like to know that proper measures were put in place to make sure that this can t happen again. it was cataclysmic, you know, and itjust ripped families apart, including mine. late last year, the first compensation payments were made to some of those affected. af
i had a blood test which the hospital confirmed was hiv. bob threackall was infected after being given contaminated drugs for the blood disorder, haemophilia. you see things on television, it is so far removed from everything you know, you don t even consider that you could be part of anything like that, but you can. now a retired teacher, sue has spent decades trying to find out what happened and what was known about the risks. 0ver that time, we have battled mps, various parliamentarians, civil servants, the medical profession, pharmaceutical companies, itjust goes on and on. bob died just months after that programme was filmed. so, in about 87, 88? yeah. about 87. he was one of thousands infected with hiv or hepatitis after taking drugs imported from abroad, or being given a transfusion. it isjust sad, because it is this life that i was living perfectly
nobody in the threckle household thought that they could be affected by aids. in 1991, the bbc broadcast this landmark documentary about the aids crisis. i had a blood test which the hospital confirmed was hiv. bob threckle was infected after being given contaminated drug for the blood disorder, haemophilia. you see things on television, it is so far removed from everything you know, you don t even consider that you could be part of anything like that, but you can. now a retired teacher, sue has spent decades trying to find out what happened and what was known about the risks. over time, we have battled mp5, various parliamentarians, civil servants, the medical profession, pharmaceutical companies, itjust goes on and on. bob died just months after that programme is filmed. so, in about 87, 88. yeah. about 87.