Shock news from 23and me.

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NF52
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Re: Shock news from 23and me.

Post by NF52 »

hairyfairy wrote:I was taught that evolution was survival of the fittest, which begs the question, what am I doing here? My genes should have been eliminated thousands of years ago.
You're here because a risk for late-onset Alzheimer's didn't prevent your ancestors from having children. At least on one side of my family, it seems the women routinely had 11-15 children as recently as 100 years ago. They might have died in their 40's and later in accidents (falling off a mountain by one story), in childbirth, or from heart disease and strokes, long before they could develop Alzheimer's, but they certainly passed on their genes!
4/4 and still an optimist!
hairyfairy
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Re: Shock news from 23and me.

Post by hairyfairy »

Tough luck for me and others like me!
thjj
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Re: Shock news from 23and me.

Post by thjj »

NF52 wrote:
hairyfairy wrote:I was taught that evolution was survival of the fittest, which begs the question, what am I doing here? My genes should have been eliminated thousands of years ago.
You're here because a risk for late-onset Alzheimer's didn't prevent your ancestors from having children. At least on one side of my family, it seems the women routinely had 11-15 children as recently as 100 years ago. They might have died in their 40's and later in accidents (falling off a mountain by one story), in childbirth, or from heart disease and strokes, long before they could develop Alzheimer's, but they certainly passed on their genes!
That is fascinating and puts it in perspective, NF52 :idea:
· • She/her · • ·
ApoE4/4 status known: 2018 | Born: 1969 | Cognitive Impairment: none
Jtmon
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Re: Shock news from 23and me.

Post by Jtmon »

Persistent anxiety is a risk factor for many diseases. I'm only a fan of news I can use. If I can't, these predictions are a source of needless anxiety. If you are doing everything you need to do to decrease your chance of a bad outcome, how does the information help? Perhaps if you are doing nothing - or don't know what to do - then more data is better. I'd deduct the time you spend in fear from your total life span. Many people spend years in fear. Even if they live to 85, were those years well-spent?
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Re: Shock news from 23and me.

Post by TelopeaBlue »

hairyfairy wrote:Iv`e just had a new report from 23and me. Apparently I have a 22 percent risk of type 2 diabetes on top of all the other diseases that I`m predisposed to. It seems that alzheimers, age related macular degeneration and coeliac disease weren`t enough, Mother nature decided to dump something else on me as well. is a predisposition to diabetes linked to the apoe4 gene?
Hi hairyfairy, I'm piling on late here - but added to the very sensible advice given already by others, I'd add that I would take the 23andMe result on diabetes with a whole bucket of salt. According to them I have a greater risk of developing T2D than my husband, who ACTUALLY HAS THE DISEASE! He was quoted an 11% risk vs my risk of 14%. However, they are missing a huge piece of the puzzle for my husband, whose father died of complications of T2D, so he definitely has a genetic component.
circular
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Re: Shock news from 23and me.

Post by circular »

hairyfairy wrote:I was taught that evolution was survival of the fittest, which begs the question, what am I doing here? My genes should have been eliminated thousands of years ago.
As far as I know, other than gluten sensitivities, those diseases wouldn't normally affect your ability to reproduce and continue the species.
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
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Re: Shock news from 23and me.

Post by BGTex »

circular wrote:
hairyfairy wrote:I was taught that evolution was survival of the fittest, which begs the question, what am I doing here? My genes should have been eliminated thousands of years ago.
As far as I know, other than gluten sensitivities, those diseases wouldn't normally affect your ability to reproduce and continue the species.
And I’ve morphed over time, according to 23AndMe, from less than 5% French/German to around 30% French/German. There have been other changes in their analysis of my ancestry as well. I did it in mid-2017, and every now and again I will look at all of the reports. They change.

It remains quite fascinating to me, but I now see it all, the health and the ancestry, as something that isn’t written in stone. I think I initially may have.
True Spiral
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Re: Shock news from 23and me.

Post by True Spiral »

Hi hairyfairy,

As I understand, all of our DNA (which, of course, is what 23 and Me is examining) is susceptible to change through random mutation. I've heard it explained that aging is a process in which our older cells are replaced by new cells. But a new cell isn't a perfect copy; it's like a photocopy of the older one, which is in turn a photocopy of the older one, and so on. If you're old enough to have seen many pieces of paper that are a photocopy of repeated photocopying, then you've seen how small deteriorations can add up with repeated copying. Apparently one form of deterioration in living things is mutation of the DNA in our cells.
As "circular" implies, the goal of organisms seems to be to reproduce so the species continues to exist. DNA mutations just happen.
It can help to reassure oneself that it could always be worse: first of all, it's a miracle that YOU (the combination of one particular mother's egg with one particular father's sperm) were born! Then, look around at all those worse off than you: those in vegetative states due to horrible accidents or illnesses; those who are physically or emotionally abused regularly, kids who have seen their parents killed in war zones, and on and on.
I have high blood sugar but am grateful for natural sweeteners such as stevia. I'm 4/4 but very thankful for what Dr. Bredesen has discovered. Dementia was the primary cause of death for my dad, and the secondary cause for my mom; they did not have the info that we do about how to prevent or reverse it.
Life is all how you look at it -- some people are simply more lucky than others. Happy New Year!
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Re: Shock news from 23and me.

Post by slacker »

Three cheers for optimism and gratitude! Thank you True Spiral.
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Sara Mushel, MS
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Re: Shock news from 23and me.

Post by Sara Mushel, MS »

Life is all how you look at it -- some people are simply more lucky than others. Happy New Year!
Hi True Spiral!

Thank you for your wonderful optimism! We know that emotions affect our physiology, so thanks for showing us a better way to manage our own unique situation and keep the big picture in perspective.

We are grateful to have you join us here in the Apoe4.info community. A great place to start are the Welcome, Primer, and Wiki pages if you haven't come across them already. You can also search for specific topics using the magnifying glass icon at the top right of the menu bar. In the meantime, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out.

Happy New Year, True Spiral!

Sara Mushel, MS
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