Re: NEWS: BBC: Alzheimer's: A disease of the young?

[Mary Ann Ryan <lambs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> hi mary ann
>
> the aspect that caught my eye was that
> the incidence of alzheimer's is not thought to be increasing in the young
> but is now being recognised and diagnosed more readily
> [possibly due to greater public awareness ?]
> which makes me wonder what happened to those young-uns
> who got alzheimers 20 years ago and maybe weren't diagnosed correctly?


Janet, I've been a nurse for 30 - some years and I haven't those 'youn-uns'.
Alzheimers eventually requires hospitalization for a whole variety of
reasons, so I question whether the increased incidence of the disease is
linked to better diagnosis.  This is not a disease that can be ignored, nor
is it a disease (like some forms of PD) that doesn't require eventual
hospitalization.

I have taken care of some cases of young onset Alzheimers, but they have
been rare.  Usually, the patient requires hospitalization because of
aspiration pneumonia or dehydration.  One of my patients developed the
disease at 50 and was totally debilitated at 60 - it did take 10 years for
her disease to progress to that point.  That's why I was so shocked by the
death of a 51 year old who had only been diagnosed 3 years previously.

I suspect that young - onset Alzheimers may be increasing.  Previously,
almost all cases of that particularly syndrome could be linked to genetics.
I'm wondering whether the YOA of today is caused by other factors.
-------
God bless
Mary Ann