Thor actor Chris Hemsworth has made major changes in his life after learning that he is between eight and 10 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, he told Sky News in August.
The Thor actor learned that he carries two copies of the APOE4 gene from a Limitless: Live Better Now test.
Hemsworth had taken the gene test as part of a National Geographic show as the program’s "guinea pig."
"It was just kind of this point in my life where up until your 40s, you're kind of gathering data and information and it's all reactionary and then you get to a point where you think, oh some of this sort of identity that I've sort of built doesn't hold true anymore, Hemsworth told Sky News.
"There's some inner sort of protest or inner voice that has a deeper need to understand and there's deeper questions and what is the purpose and the why behind what I'm doing ... and what am I seeking, what am I contributing, as opposed to just what I am collecting."
Living with doubke APOE4 genes
The 41-year-old Aussie’s genetic risk is fairly common, with one in every 50 people inheriting two copies of APOE4.
Researchers found nearly all double carriers show key early signs of the disease, according to Sky News, which causes dementia by the age of 55.
One way Hemsworth is tackling the risk, based on guidance by Limitless: Live Better, is taking on new challenges. The actor began learning how to play a musical instrument, with the support of his friend and musician Ed Sheeran.
"Some of the other challenges were that if I did the training, it was beneficial, but I could kind of muscle my way through it. You can't do that with a musical instrument, and then the realization that the entire band is relying on you to keep time. And then 70,000 people are sitting there going, 'please don't wreck our favorite song,'" he said, speaking on the pressure to perform.
"The joy was unlike anything I've ever experienced. You know, if you could bottle that and have it in a healthy way and not have all the negatives that someone may have for it, it was amazing. It was a true kind of one of my first probably proper out of body experiences, I suppose.
"It was like, I kind of remember being in the out, looking down at myself almost, kind of going, wow, I'm kind of floating along with this thing that's so much bigger than me and I'm in true sort of flow state with it."