If there is a subject that is as exciting as it is complex, it is Genetics. At university a complete module of this subject, and luckily I managed to study it with a specialist in the area, so its level of demand was really very high, but I appreciate it, because I finished among many things and even today, when I stop to read an article about it I understand it, and I try to keep up with updates in this area.

Although I do not talk much about it, because it is usually a little difficult to explain and even more if you want to be understood, but today I come to talk about something specific, and it is related to a terrible disease that usually occurs in old age, beyond 65 years, and this is Alzheimer's disease. I think everyone has read or heard about it at some point, it has no cure, like so many other diseases.

But, I want to talk about the genetic origin of this disease, because basically everything is there, in the genes, in the DNA of each of our cells, and a disease is expressed or not depending on many factors. But as far as the gene related to Alzheimer's is concerned, there is a lot advanced, stay and read to the end, I know you are interested in what I want to tell you.

I can say that talking about genetics, about DNA, can be one of the most abstract fields of medical science, because until a few decades ago there was a lot of information vacuum in this area, and as it happens with many other things, as technology and study devices advance, many more advances can be achieved and discover so many things that were suspected, or in other cases are total novelties that even some throw to the ground many other "truths" that were taken for irrefutable.

The DNA is composed of a huge number of genes, these genes are fragments of DNA that have specific information. With the recent study of the Human Genome, it has been possible to discover, to decipher practically where each of the genes that codify each part of our body are located, what determines the color of our eyes, the size, absolutely everything.

And in the same way, it has been detected, and it is still in the process of elucidating in which gene is the possibility of developing each one of the diseases that we could potentially suffer during our lives. And I'm not talking about flu or common infectious diseases, but that kind of chronic disease like diabetes or Alzheimer's.

That is why a single drop of a person's saliva can provide so much information about that person, both about him and his parents, doesn't that sound interesting?

I can say in a general way that the fact that someone has a gene for a certain disease does not mean that he or she will suffer from that disease. This is where other aspects of genetics come in, where we talk about recessive and dominant genes, among other things that you have surely seen in your high school biology classes.

In the case of Alzheimer it has been detected that the gene that receives the name of APOE, of which there are 3 subtypes. But the most important thing to know if there is a genetic predisposition or not to suffer from the disease, or what possibility there is, is determined by the following in the first instance:

• If you have a gene inherited from one parent, the chances increase by 2 to 3 times.
• But if you have two copies of the APOE gene, i.e. one inherited from each parent, the chance of having the disease is 8 to 12 times higher.

This is based on the person who has no gene.

And of course, the only way to know this is if you have a DNA test, where you look for this in particular. Which in families that have a history of Alzheimer's is recommended. Not to worry but to know that we should keep this in mind and take on some activities as part of our daily routine, in order to prevent the disease from developing.

Pixabay/ Author: swiftsciencewriting

There are people who have the APOE gene, they can even inherit the pair of genes from their parents and still not suffer from the disease. And on the other hand, there are other people who do not have the genes and do suffer from Alzheimer's disease over time, which means that the APOE gene predisposes you, but it is not definitive, and that there are other genes and even other aspects of the person that are not entirely clear and that precipitate the onset of the disease.

It is therefore suspected that there are still genes involved in the onset of this disease that remain undiscovered.

As is known, Alzheimer's is a disease that once it is established there is no turning back. And it basically affects the Hippocampus, the area of the brain that stores all our memories, therefore the memory is lost little by little. Until you do not even recognize those closest to you, and the situation worsens as time goes by. It is not easy for the relatives, and most of the time the patients do not even realize what is happening to them, but they become totally dependent.

Pixabay/ Author: geralt

I hope that with this publication you now have a little more knowledge regarding the genetic origin of this dreaded disease.

As I said from the beginning, I did not intend to leave you with a post in which complicated technical terminology would confuse you and you would end up losing interest, but rather I intended to provide practical information that would be very easy to digest for those who read it. I hope that I have fulfilled my intention.

Thank you for reading my publication.

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• Links consulted

• The genetics of Alzheimer’s disease

• Genetics of Alzheimer’s Disease