Don't worry, you're not likely to walk into the boss and say, "I had FMF yesterday" but you might mistakenly say you had a heavy bout of flu. Pyrin is a gene which regulates white cells. It is estimated this genetic syndrome carries back 1000 years or more, maybe to the Pharos. That was the nub of this DNA research. Of great concern, doctors have been treating these cases as normal, low to medium grade fever without much success. They have been mystified by lack of clinical response to symptoms. When and if diagnosed, a drug, Colchicine, is available. This ancient drug comprises much of the mysticism of the Nile, the Pyramids, snake charmers and communal hooka smoking. Emerging from the petals of the autumn Crocus, the drug was discovered about 500 B.C, curiously, about the same time as the mutation seems to have emerged. Up to about 30 years ago Colchicine had only been useful in the treatment of gout. But don't mess with it, it's a dangerous one. Check it out on the Internet, later.  

Romanovs   
The recent rejection of the Anastasia claim to be descended from the Nicholas, Czar of Russia was disproved by DNA comparison with England's Prince Philip who has a provable connection to that source. The pretender's DNA was not compatible to the Czar's but was traced to a factory worker in Poland about the turn of this century. Even Beethoven is being unearthed. From locks of his hair, (he died almost bald because so many had taken this keepsake, a common locket practice at the time) geneticists are trying to determine whether he really died of syphilis or not. They are also trying to determine the cause of his deafness which may have been the same neuropathy referred above. The next imponderable question 'Are all the Romanovs, Romanoffs, and Romanofs, Romanaks, Romanows, etc, both royals and commoners alike, all related to the same basic DNA blueprint?' The odds have to be at least 90% in their favor. If the odds are so great with a royal family, why not with not with a lesser family? Is this the common key that made the Romanovs rulers of Russia, and other important positions in life? Hemophilia also runs in this royal line. Aren't we lucky?  

Alzheimers  
There are now family groupings that take a very active interest in their surname medical history. One such, on the Internet, report their well organized re-unions more or less dedicated to investigating the excessive intrusion into the line by Alzheimers disease. Thousands attend the family re-unions. Every room in town is booked. The family has documented the incidence of this condition from the late 19th century when they emigrated to the U.S.A. from the Ukraine. In their continuing investigations they have even charted their ancestors passage from 16th century Germany, then by a grant of lands in the 17th century from Katherine the Great of Russia. The migrants from Germany settled in the Ukraine in two small villages, Frank and Walter, near Odessa. The present inhabitants of these villages also reveal the same gene - the same statistically excessive trait. While there is much to be discovered by medical genealogists this is a but one of thousands of examples of a growing apprehension about this DNA connection and its historic trail of potent misery. Such cases have been documented since the early part of this century, without even the benefit of the DNA.  

Analysis  
So where does this leave us? Does this mean that if you're of Anglo-Saxon, Teutonic, Gaelic, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Chinese or Japanese origin you could carry other hidden racially mutant genes, a unique characteristic of your race? Other studies have suggested this. Who could isolate such a racial database, and how? Have we sufficient data, for instance, to make tests and differential diagnoses between say, the similar physical profiles of Anglo Saxon, Saxon, Teutonic, Gaelic and Norman races. Here we encounter few reliable physical characteristic differentials such as hair, skin tone, color, facial contour, or physical size - not much which we can 'scientifically' eyeball and identify. In this group there are few unique social custom distinctions, comparable to that which the FMF teams might have had to work with. Yet, most certainly there must be hundreds of other mutations anciently and secretly inbred in every race which, for instance, not only sets the Armenian, the Turkish, the Jewish, and the Arab race quite apart from their neighbors, the Afghans, Kurds, Iraqis, Iranians or the Greeks or any other races who seem not to be included, but who may have their own mutant inbred genes causing a multitude of hidden ailments, serious or otherwise.  
 

Introduction  
  
 
 
 

   
Sheep 
Stealers  
  
 
 

Internet's 
Influence 
  
  
 
 
 

Medical 
Uses 
  
 
 
 
 

Why DNA?  
  
  
 
 
 
 

DNA and  
Genealogy  
  
  
  
 
 
 

The Future