Brain health may benefit from a small change towards healthy directions, for multiple modifiable risk factors.3,14 Public health strategies promoting healthy habits across the general populations could mitigate neurodegenerative disease risks, while targeted approaches for publicly acknowledged high-risk subgroups (e.g. APOE e4 homozygotes and people with unhealthy lifestyles) warrant further investigation, such as smoking cessation, reducing alcohol intake, adopting healthy diets, decreasing sedentary behaviour and maintaining regular physical activity. The gene discussed is APOE; the disease is neurodegenerative disease.