The Future Of Health Alzheimer’s syndrome is a disease characterized by memory issues. It is considered that only elderly people face this problem. However, is this really the case?
Can’t people under 70 notice that they do not remember information well? And do memory problems at an early age always mean that a person is predisposed to Alzheimer’s? Keep reading this article to get answers to these questions.
Alzheimer’s or Dementia?
Alzheimer’s syndrome is the most common disease associated with partial memory loss. At the same time, one in ten people suffering from this disease discovered the first symptoms before they turned 65. Thus, Alzheimer’s is a disease that appears not only in the elderly. However, most young people do not face memory problems caused by this diagnosis.
The diagnosis of dementia, however, is even rarer. While Alzheimer’s occurs in more than half of young people with serious memory problems, less than one percent of people have been diagnosed with dementia.
Symptoms of Early Alzheimer’s
It is worth noting that the late form of Alzheimer’s is more serious and complex than the earlier disease:
- Elderly people diagnosed with this disease have problems with both episodic and working memory.
- Moreover, they notice that they have become less perceptive, which negatively affects the ability to process incoming information.
- These problems arise due to the fact that with aging, the frontal lobes of the brain, whose work is associated with a large number of functions, are affected.
- Unlike older people, adults may face smaller-scale difficulties. For example, it may be challenging for them to remember an event or to recall something that happened not so long ago. Thus, these problems can be quite rare and minor.
However, it should be understood that young people with Alzheimer’s syndrome may experience this diagnosis more emotionally. While older people often do not realize that they forget many things, young people reflect a lot, which can lead to negative thoughts and even depression.
In addition, young people lead an active life regarding work and family, so it may be more difficult for them to cope with this disease.
Exceptions To The Rules
We have given the statistics above, which show how many young people are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. However, it is worth bearing in mind that there are exceptions. People with Down syndrome are characterized by this diagnosis. They might face this disease at the age of 40.
This is not the only case when Alzheimer’s can be detected earlier than usual. For example, if you know that there are any other genetic diseases in your family, this will be an occasion to think about whether you are at risk of having this disease.