Is dementia only affecting older people? Many people may not know that
dementia does not necessarily occur in the elderly. Apart from
Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia, there are some
other rare diseases that suffer from dementia. We will go through the
different types of dementia caused by neurodegenerative diseases.
Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease
is the most common type of dementia. It mainly affects older people, but
there are still some people who get Alzheimer’s diseases in adulthood
due to genetic variation. There are around 5% of Alzheimer’s diseases
are early-onset Alzheimer’s diseases.
Dementia with Lewy Bodies
Dementia with Lewy bodies is caused by protein deposition in neurons. It
interrupts the chemical information in the patient’s brain and causes
memory loss and disorientation. Patients with Lewy bodies dementia and
patients with Parkinson’s disease share a lot of symptoms, for example,
shaking hands and difficulty walking.
Frontotemporal Dementia
Frontotemporal Dementia is caused by genetic mutation or genetic
inheritance. It affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.
Patients with frontotemporal dementia would have speech difficulties and
poor judgement.
Parkinson’s disease
As Parkinson’s disease gradually affects neurons in the brain, patients
with Parkinson’s disease might have memory loss or hard to concentrate.
They have weak visual perception and difficult memories of easy tasks in
daily life.
Huntington’s Disease
Huntington’s disease is a genetic disorder. Neurons in patients’ brains
breakdown progressively. Therefore, patients with Huntington’s disease
would have dementia symptoms, for example, poor judgement, poor memory,
difficulty in learning new knowledge. They would also develop the
involuntary movement of limbs.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is caused by an abnormal infectious of the
prion protein. There are 15% of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease cases are
hereditary. Patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease would have a loss of
memory and involuntary jerking movements. It is a fatal
neurodegenerative disease in which patients dying within one year of
onset.
Niemann-Pick disease type C
Niemann-Pick disease type C is a rare genetic disorder that affects
lipid metabolism. Fats, especially cholesterol, accumulate in the
patient’s liver and spleen. Some other harmful fats accumulate in the
patient’s brain, therefore result in dementia symptoms.
What should I do if I have dementia symptoms?
Apart from the above types of dementia caused by neurodegenerative
diseases, there are some more causes of dementia symptoms. For example,
vascular dementia caused by stroke or cardiovascular disease. Some of
the dementia cases are caused by alcoholism, lack of vitamin B1, even
HIV-related.
Dementia symptoms related to neurodegenerative diseases are so similar,
for example, communication problem, poor judgement, difficulty speaking,
mood and personality change, confusion with time and place.
Genetic testing
for neurodegenerative diseases can help with confirmatory diagnosis at
an early stage. It allows patients to get effective treatment as soon as
possible. If you find yourself or your family members experiencing the
early symptoms of dementia, please seek medical advice as soon as
possible.
