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

“I’m forgetting,” a caregiver exclaims  “Could I have Alzheimer’s, too?”
Sometimes I wondered when the burden of caregiving left me exhausted and Mother had yet one more repeated question (she’s asked it just five minutes before), plugged the toilet with newspaper (because she was back in the outhouse days), or emptied the leftovers from the refrigerator in the night for her cat. 
Do you ever say to yourself, when wondering why this disease affected your loved one, “Will I come down with it, too?  Will my family have to care for me like this?”  Do you look at your parent and wonder if the genes …read more

My post, Cloned Pigs with Alzheimer’s Genes, is featured in Mendel’s Garden Genetics Blog Carnival #16, hosted by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei at Eye On DNA.   
Mendel’s Garden is a blog carnival devoted to genetics, generally with a different blogger hosting it each time.  You’ll find, at this carnival, an amazing number of ways genetics and genetic research plays a role in our lives.

With the post, Genetic Engineering in Mice May Aid Alzheimer’s Research, Alzheimer’s Notes appeared at Genie Genie in Mendel’s Garden, hosted by Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei, at Eye on DNA.
Here I shared news about mice that were genetically engineered to lack the Cdk5 enzyme.  Researchers think this may help them in Alzheimer’s discoveries.

“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.