Young onset dementia

Alzheimer’s disease accounts for around one in three cases of young onset dementia. Around 5 in every 100 people with Alzheimer’s disease are under 65. This figure may be higher as it can be more difficult to get an accurate diagnosis at a younger age.

As Alzhiemer’s disease starts to affect the brain a build-up of two proteins, called amyloid and tau occurs. Although researchers don’t yet have a complete understanding of what triggers this, both proteins are involved in the development of Alzheimer’s. As the disease progresses, the protein build-up damages more and more brain cells. This damage affects how our brains work and leads to the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

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Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a rare form of dementia usually affecting people between 50 and 65. It usually begins by affecting a person’s vision.

PCA is caused by damage to brain cells at the back of the brain. This is the part of our brain that processes information from our eyes and allows us to make sense of what we are seeing and where things are.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of brain cell damage in PCA, but it can also be caused by other types of dementia such as dementia with Lewy bodies.

People living with PCA have symptoms that vary from person to person and can change over time. Most people will have problems with their vision first, but some people may have problems with dressing, handwriting, coordination, numbers, and language too.

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Vascular dementia is the second most common cause of young onset dementia, accounting for around one in every five cases.

Vascular dementia occurs when blood vessels in the brain are damaged. This affects how our brain cells work and causes them to become damaged too. This can lead to symptoms of dementia, like memory and thinking problems. There can also be more specific symptoms depending on the area of the brain affected. Vascular dementia can occur after a stroke, or due to small vessel disease (long-term damage of the smaller vessels of the brain), due to underlying medical conditions like high blood pressure.

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Frontotemporal dementia, also known as FTD, often occurs in people under the age of 65. FTD accounts for around 12 in every 100 cases of young onset dementia. FTD often begins between the ages of 50-60. 

In FTD there is damage to cells in areas of the brain called the frontal and temporal lobes. These areas of our brains control our personality, emotions and behaviour, as well as speech and understanding of words. There are several different types of FTD, and symptoms vary depending on which parts of the frontal and temporal lobes are affected.

Sometimes the separate conditions we have described are known as their specific names, like primary progressive aphasia (PPA) or behavioural frontotemporal dementia, and other times doctors may refer to them collectively known as FTD.

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Around one in 10 cases of young onset dementia is caused by dementia with Lewy bodies.

Dementia with Lewy bodies is caused by small round clumps of protein called alpha-synuclein. The clumps it forms are called Lewy bodies. Lewy bodies damage the nerve cells, and this damage affects the way that our brain cells communicate.

Dementia with Lewy bodies can cause common dementia symptoms like memory loss and confusion, as well as other symptoms, like changes to alertness and hallucinations (or seeing things that are not there) and changes in body movements. Everyone’s experience of dementia symptoms can be different, but most people have changes to their thinking, memory and behaviour that get worse over time.

Dementia with Lewy bodies is closely related to Parkinson’s disease. The build-up of Lewy bodies is also found in Parkinson’s, and leads to symptoms like movement problems and tremors. These symptoms can also occur t in dementia with Lewy bodies.

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Parkinson’s disease is most commonly diagnosed around age 60 years old. Over half of people with Parkinson’s go on to develop dementia, usually about 10 years after their diagnosis.

Parkinson’s disease affects brain cells that produce a chemical called dopamine. The brain uses dopamine to send messages which control the body’s movement. When the brain cannot produce enough dopamine to control movement properly, symptoms of Parkinson’s begin to appear. As more brain cells are affected, problems with movement will get worse.

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