Recent studies show linkage between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and two loci on chromosome 10. The cell division cycle 2 (cdc2) gene is located close to one of the chromosome 10 markers, and is a candidate gene for AD since it is involved in the pathogenesis of AD. We sequenced coding exons and flanking intronic sequences and the promoter region on the cdc2 gene and found three new single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We analyzed 272 Caucasian AD cases, 160 controls and 70 cases with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) for these SNPs. Homozygosity for one of the SNPs (Ex6+7I/D) was more frequent in both AD and FTD cases than in controls. In the combined tauopathy (AD and FTD) group the odds ratio (OR) was 1.77 (95% CI 1.19-2.63) for the Ex6+7II genotype. Our findings suggest that the Ex6+7I allele is associated with tauopathies, both AD and FTD.