May 22, 2008

How to Deal With Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease

When someone gets the form of dementia known as Alzheimer's disease when they are younger than age 65, it is considered early onset Alzheimer's. While Alzheimer's disease itself is not a certain symptom of aging, it is not commonly seen in those that are this young. It is also very rare. Only six to eight percent of those with the disease have early onset Alzheimer's. This translates to roughly about 300,000 Americans who contract the disease each year.

Very seldom does someone get early onset Alzheimer's in their thirties or forties. It is more common to see the disease when a person is in their fifties. The risk of contracting the disease of course increases with age.

But does early onset Alzheimer's progress at a faster rate? Alzheimer's disease is degenerative, meaning that it gets worse as time goes on. The rate at which it progresses is different for everyone. There seems to be a common misconception that early onset Alzheimer's progresses quicker than normal, but this doesn't seem to be the case. Hard data from actual research on patients does not support the idea that it will progress faster than any normal case of Alzheimer's.

Here are special considerations with early onset Alzheimer's. Because Alzheimer's is considered to be an aged person's disease, when someone has the early onset of the disease in their fifties, it's often overlooked as being a medical condition. Alzheimer's causes uncertainty, irritability, forgetfulness, and neglect of basic everyday routines such as hygiene and safety concerns (locking doors, bringing in the pets, etc.). When such things show themselves with someone in their fifties, it may be assumed that they're simply becoming ratty and irritable, or purposefully careless. Rarely do even doctors consider checking for early onset Alzheimer's.

Difficulties on the job and within families can be magnified. Someone that contract Alzheimer's in their 80's is probably already retired and expects their life to be winding down. Someone in their fifties may be completely unprepared for the problems that accompany early onset Alzheimer's, as will be their spouses and other family members. The thought of so many years that they expected to still be strong and active suddenly slipping away can be upsetting.

Every day for early onset Alzheimer's new treatment methods are being researched, so perhaps one day doctors will find a way to cure the disease, and perhaps even prevent it in general.

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