Chris Hemsworth's genetic testing reveals his chances of getting Alzheimer's 8 to 10 times more
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Chris Hemsworth was expecting normal results when he went for genetic testing while shooting an episode for his Disney+ docuseries ‘Limitless’. However, the 'Thor' star was up for a shocker when the doctor told that the chances of getting Alzheimer’s are 8 to 10 times greater in him. In the series, Hemsworth is seen going beyond his body’s limits as he fights stress, fights back aging, and enhances his performance. It is in the fifth episode, called ‘Memory’, that a doctor shares with the 39-year-old actor that he has two copies of the gene APOE4, referring to a greater risk of the disease.
The Australian actor opened up about his recent "mental shift" during an interview with Vanity Fair, "They took all my bloodwork and did a bunch of tests and the plan was to on-camera tell me all the results and then talk about how you can improve this and that." Hemsworth told the outlet, "And Peter Attia, who is the longevity doctor in that episode, and overseeing a lot of the show, called [show creator] Darren [Aronofsky] and said, 'I don't want to tell him this on camera. We need to have an off-side conversation and see if he even wants this to be in the show.' It was pretty shocking because he called me up and he told me."
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He further said, "My concern was I just didn't want to manipulate it and overdramatize it, and make it into some sort of hokey grab at empathy, or whatever, for entertainment. It's not like I've been handed my resignation." Not to let the results get into him, Hemsworth instead took it as an opportunity to bring forth positive changes in his lifestyle, "If you look at Alzheimer's prevention, the benefit of preventative steps is that it affects the rest of your life. When you have preposition to cardiovascular heart disease, cancer, anything—it's all about sleep management, stress management, nutrition, movement, fitness. It's all kind of the same tools that need to be applied in a consistent way," reports People.
Admitting that the news sure had a psychological and emotional effect, Hemsworth further told, "Yeah, there was an intensity to navigating it. Most of us, we like to avoid speaking about death in the hope that we'll somehow avoid it. We all have this belief that we'll figure it out. Then to all of a sudden be told some big indicators are actually pointing to this as the route which is going to happen, the reality of it sinks in. Your own mortality."
'The Extraction' star shares twin sons Sasha and Tristan, 8, and daughter India, 10, with wife Elsa Pataky.