I used to attend regularly a program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital called ‘Healthy Transions.’ It was for folks over 55 years old and dealt with the situations they would encounter as they aged. The most popular talks by far were the ones on MCI – mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s not surprising that as we age we get serious concerns about our brains functioning fully.
Here is what Sharecare had to say on the subject: We rightly associate Alzheimer’s disease with an older population. Most people who develop this progressive brain disorder are age 65 and older. Currently some 5.5 million Americans—two-thirds of them women—live with the disease. But hidden within that estimate, a smaller number—approximately 200,000 adults—develop the condition under the age of 65. When this happens, it’s called younger-onset, or early-onset Alzheimer’s. “Alzheimer’s is just one type of dementia, and given the frequency of early-onset it’s somewhat uncommon,” says H. Rai Kakkar, MD, a neurologist at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Centerin Denver, Colorado.
How is early-onset different?
Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (EOAD) is the same as Alzheimer’s disease in terms of progressive deterioration of cognitive function, but there are differences in causes. Some cases are the result of familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD), caused by an inherited change in one of several specific genes. Continue reading
Health Secrets of a SuperAger 