Chris Hemsworth plans on taking more time off from the entertainment industry after learning he has a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease.
The 39-year-old actor made the decision to take some time off after he found out, and it was revealed, that he was predisposed to develop Alzheimer’s.
Getty imagesChris learned on the new NatGeo program that his DNA has two copies of the gene APOE4, which makes him eight to ten times more likely to battle the progressive disease.
During an interview with Vanity Fair, Chris opened up about how much the reveal effected him and his decision.
“It’s not like I’ve been handed my resignation,” he said, adding that “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.”
Chris explains, “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.”
Hemsworth and his wife, Elsa Pataky, 46, share three children: 10-year-old India and 8-year-old twins Sasha and Tristan.
According to Mayo Clinic, Alzheimer’s causes the brain to shrink and brain cells to die. About 80% of people with Alzheimer’s are over the age of 75.
There is no cure for the disease, but medications may temporarily improve or slow the progression of symptoms, Mayo Clinic says.
