The actor found out that he is 10 times more likely to suffer from the disease than the average person
Chris Hemsworth has revealed he's taking some time out from acting after he found out he has a concerningly high predisposition to Alzheimer's disease.
The actor has recently been filming his new documentary series Limitless, which as the name suggests, involves Hemsworth finding ways to push himself to the physical brink as he explores the various ways to increase longevity.
Whilst filming, the Thor actor did several genetic tests and it was thanks to them that he discovered that he carries two copies of a gene which has extremely close associations with dementia, the disease caused by Alzehimers.
As revealed by the doctor who performed the genetic tests on
Hemsworth, only 3% of the population have this specific double copy of the
gene, which increases the risk of the disease by 8-10%.
As he
explains in Vanity Fair, the discovery has prompted Hemsworth to take some
time off. "It really triggered something in me to want to take some time
off. And since we finished the show, I've been completing the things I was
already contracted to do.Now when I finish this tour this week, I'm going
home and I'm going to have a good chunk of time off and just simplify. Be
with the kids, be with my wife", he said
Hemsworth also revealed
that his grandfather is currently suffering from dementia and that the
disease is something that has affected his family: "I'm not sure he actually
remembers much anymore and he slips in and out of Dutch, which is his
original language, so he'll be talking Dutch and English and then a mash-up
and then maybe some other new words as well."
