Just after Christmas, the New York Times ran number of articles on Alzheimer’s Disease as part of their Six Killers series. The Six Killers series looks aat the leading causes of illness and death in the United States – heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Here’s the links to the Alzheimer’s Disease articles just in case you missed them.
Finding Alzheimer’s Before a Mind Fails
When Both Parents Suffer Dementia, Children Suspect It is Also in Their Future
Disease Brings Drastic Changes to Patients, and Stress to Family Members
In the Absence of a Gene That Says …read more

  Research results released in recent days have indicated there may be a relationship between cold sores and Alzheimer’s.  Elaine, at Genetics and Health, discusses the Herpes Simplex 1 (HSV-1) virus  involved and these latest findings in her post, Cold sore virus may be linked to Alzheimer’s.
She also relates the connection between HSV-1 and ApoE4 gene and their connection with Alzheimer’s…how researchers suspect the presence of the ApoE4 gene may work to make HSV-1 more active.

Dr. Hsein-Hsien Lei at Eye on DNA hosts Gene Genie #18 today with a round-up of questions and information concerning DNA and genetics.  You’ll find a great deal fascinating reading as you explore the various blogs.
   Alzheimer’s Notes participated in this round-up with my post where I ponder, Does Alzheimer’s Follow a Family Gene? ane consider my family members who may and may not have had this disease.
I also like the answer Hsien gives to my question, when she points us to the Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Fact Sheet.

As I read a post at Eye on DNA, Genetic Genealogy Mildly Hot, and how DNA is being used to trace ancestors and find distant relatives, I wondered if families would discover connections with Alzheimer’s.  A number of questions flitted through my mind:
                             
*Would one find ancestors with dementia or Alzheimer’s in the family history?
*Will they find distant cousins who suffer from Alzheimer’s or have family members who do?
*If your family member (parent/spouse/aunt/uncle/grandparent/sibling) has Alzheimer’s, will you find a history of this disease as you use DNA to find ancestors?
*Will we find there’s a genetic or hereditary connection to Alzheimer’s?
Just some points …read more

Grand Rounds, consisting of posts from predominately medical, health and genetic related blogs was hosted by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei of Eye on DNA this week.   Uniquely located in a virtual beach house, Hsien called this gathering of bloggers Grand Rounds at the Beach.
Among the bloggers participating, you’ll find Alzheimer’s Notes with Do Caregivers See Themselves in Alzheimer’s Family Members?
The Grand Rounds party or carnival has been around for 2 years, 46 weeks, according to Hsien.  A fun group to party with!

“Mice genetically engineered to lack a single enzyme in their brains are more adept at learning than their normal cousins, and are quicker to figure out their environment has changed,” according to a press release from UT Southwestern Medical Center published in EurekAlert.  (The research results appear in the online edition of Nature Neurosience.)
The example was given of the engineered, or “smart,” mice ” being more adept at learning to navigate a water maze and remembering that being in a certain box involves a mild shock.  The mice also were faster than their cousins to realize when situations changed and could work out …read more

When people learn my mother and aunt developed Alzheimer’s disease, they often ask, “Aren’t you afraid you’ll get it, too…that it’s in your genes?”
 Is Alzheimer’s genetic? 
Did Auntie and Mother develop it because of something in their genes? Then why didn’t their two brothers have Alzheimer’s?  Their minds were alert when they died in their 80’s.  We can’t say it’s because they were males and Mother and Auntie females since other men develop Alzheimer’s.
Although there is testing and research going on by many scientists and institutions, they’ve found no certain cause nor sure cure. The testing continues to see  whether one …read more

Hsien Hsien Lei has posted an entry about Alzheimer’s disease and genetics at her Health and Genetics blog, “Alzheimer’s Disease and the HSF-1 and DAF-16 Genes,”   (http://www.geneticsandhealth.com/2006/08/11/alzheimer’s-disease-and-the-hsf-1-and-daf-16-genes/ ).
Rather than trying to summarize what she discusses about this research, I’m referring you directly to her blog for Aug. 11.