In celebration of the Dementia Awareness Month, Alzheimer's Disease International focuses on their campaigns on advocacy and public awareness through information provision. Everyone is encouraged to be watchful with their loved ones and spot the signs of dementia, even early onset signs.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that "35.6 million people around the world are living with dementia. The latter is not a disease. It is a group of symptoms that affect mental task like memory and reasoning. It can be caused by a variety of conditions, which the most common is Alzheimer's disease.
As dementia progresses, it can have a devastating impact on the ability to function independently and the major cause of the disability of older people. It places an emotional and financial burden on families and caregivers.
However, it is not just a disease of old age as it can affect people younger than age 65. Among the 5 million Americans, 5 percent of them have younger-onset. These people ages from 40 to 50, who have families and careers or are even caregivers themselves. It is estimated that approximately 200,000 people have early onset in the United States alone.
According to an article by the Alzheimer's Association, doctors didn't understand why most cases of early onset Alzheimer's appear at such a young age.
With this, scientists have pinpointed several rare genes that directly cause Alzheimer's. People who "inherit these rare genes tend to develop symptoms in their 30s, 40s and 50s". When Alzheimer's disease is caused by deterministic genes, it is called "familial Alzheimer's disease," and many family members in multiple generations are affected.
However, for dementia, according to Cleveland Clinic, infections such as HIV can trigger the said symptom. Other possible causes are also vascular disease, stroke, depression and chronic drug use.
Thus, upon diagnosing of early onset, it is much encouraging to have a comprehensive medical evaluation with a doctor who specializes both in Dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Support from immediate family is the key for this symptom and disease to be addressed at its early onset.
