Younger onset dementia is used to describe any form of dementia that develops in people under the age of 65. Dementia has been diagnosed in people in their 50s, 40s and even in their 30s. It is sometimes called early onset dementia.
Dementia can affect people as young as 30, although this is extremely rare. Most younger people with dementia are middle aged: in their 50s and early 60s. The term 'young onset dementia', or 'early onset dementia', or 'working life dementia' refers to people diagnosed with dementia under the age of 65.
Alzheimer's disease is a type of dementia characterized by the accumulation of toxic, misfolded beta-amyloid proteins that form plaques in the brain. A new study in Neurology suggests that beta-amyloid may begin accumulating decades earlier than believed, starting as early as our 20s [1].
In some instances, dementia symptoms can appear in the youngest of children and babies and progress quickly. While for other children like Angelina, symptoms may not start until they are teenagers. All children with dementia, however, face one common challenge: childhood dementia is progressive.
In some cases, dementia symptoms may appear in children and babies and progress quickly, while in other cases, symptoms may not start until the teenage years. Dementia in young people can also be more difficult to recognize. The following factors may contribute to delays in diagnosis: being younger at the age of onset.
The current evidence indicates that while chronic stress may play a role in the development or progression of dementia, it does not necessarily cause dementia. Hopefully, further research can begin to uncover what role stress plays in a person's risk of developing dementia.
At the age of just 31, the ski instructor based in Suffolk, U.K., became one of the youngest cases of dementia doctors had seen, The Telegraph reports. Barletta, who is now 32, lives in her parent's home where she requires 24-hour care, the Cambridge News reports.
There are over 70 rare genetic disorders that cause dementia in children, and right now, they are impacting 700,000 lives globally. Sadly, 75% of children living with dementia have a life expectancy of just 18 or less, and on average, someone dies every 11 minutes from childhood dementia.
The majority of dementia is not inherited by children and grandchildren. In rarer types of dementia there may be a strong genetic link, but these are only a tiny proportion of overall cases of dementia.
Introduction: The five-word test (5WT) is a serial verbal memory test with semantic cuing. It is proposed to rapidly evaluate memory of aging people and has previously shown its sensitivity and its specificity in identifying patients with AD.
Earlier-life depression and dementia risk
Together these studies suggest that earlier life or early onset of depression is significantly associated with risk of developing dementia.
Memory and other thinking problems have many possible causes, including depression, an infection, or medication side effects. Sometimes, the problem can be treated, and cognition improves. Other times, the problem is a brain disorder, such as Alzheimer's disease, which cannot be reversed.
It is caused by genetic mutations (changes in genes) that run in families. Three genes have been found to have these rare mutations – PSEN1 (presenilin 1), PSEN2 (presenilin 2) and APP (amyloid precursor protein).
Early-onset Alzheimer disease currently has no cure. But healthcare providers have been successful in helping people maintain their mental function, control behavior, and slow the progress of the disease. Medicines are used to help people maintain mental function.
More information about these conditions is available at https://www.childhooddementia.org/childhood-dementia-disorders. Around one in every 2,800 babies globally are born with a condition that causes childhood dementia.
A person in the later stages of dementia is likely to have a weak immune system. This means they have a higher risk of getting infections, which in some cases can last for a long time. One of the most common causes of death for people with dementia is pneumonia caused by an infection.
Although dementia mainly affects older people, it is not an inevitable consequence of ageing. Currently more than 55 million people live with dementia worldwide, and there are nearly 10 million new cases every year.
Lower levels of education, higher rates of poverty, and greater exposure to adversity and discrimination may also increase risk of Alzheimer's disease. Among all races, women are nearly two times more likely to be affected by Alzheimer's disease than men. The difference is due primarily to women living longer.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Repeat scans can show how a person's brain changes over time. Evidence of shrinkage may support a diagnosis of Alzheimer's or another neurodegenerative dementia but cannot indicate a specific diagnosis. MRI also provides a detailed picture of brain blood vessels.