Month: January 2022

dementia

Understand Young-Onset Dementia – Symptoms, Causes & Treatment

Dementia is a term that refers to a set of symptoms that impact a person’s memory, reasoning, and social abilities to the point where it interferes with their regular activities. It also affects behaviour, feelings, and relationships with others. Dementia isn’t caused by a single specific disease, but it can be caused by a number of them. Memory loss is a common symptom, however, isn’t always a mark of dementia, but it is generally one of the first symptoms.
Dementia is a serious public health problem that is becoming more prevalent today. The great prevalence of dementia in the elderly, on the other hand, may overshadow the significance of its occurrence in younger people. This is termed Young-onset dementia or in other words ‘dementia at a young age’. Follow through the blog to get more information on causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of young-onset dementia.

What is Young-Onset Dementia?

When symptoms of dementia appear before the age of 65, usually between the ages of 30 and 65, it is referred to as ‘young onset dementia.’ It’s also known as ‘early onset’ or ‘working age’ dementia, but both words are sometimes used interchangeably. Young early-onset dementia means the beginning stages of dementia, while ‘working age’ is becoming less defined as retirement ages became more flexible.

The young-onset dementia age is between 30-65 years, and the youngest dementia age or the youngest age of dementia could be 31 years. (An example of younger onset dementia – Becky Barletta who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia at the young age of 31 years).

Early signs of young-onset dementia are not often recognized and may be attributed to other factors such as depression, stress, menopause, physical health difficulties, and relationship challenges, as dementia is frequently and incorrectly linked with old age. This can cause a substantial delay in receiving an accurate diagnosis and necessary care (on average four years). This can have a detrimental impact not only on the life of the person with dementia but also on the lives of their entire family.

What are the Causes of Young-onset Dementia?

Dementia is caused by damage to the brain. There could be many causes associated with it like:

The causes of young-onset dementia are similar to the ones in older people. However, some causes, such as frontotemporal dementia (FTD), are more common in children and young adults. The causes of younger onset dementia include:

Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of young-onset dementia, affecting one out of every three people under the age of 65. Proteins clump together in the brain to produce ‘plaques’ and ‘tangles,’ due to which the brain cells die, affecting its functions. Memory loss is less likely to be the first symptom of young-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Atypical Alzheimer’s disease

An ‘atypical’ form of Alzheimer’s disease is far more common in younger people. The young onsets Alzheimer’s symptoms include:
Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) – Problem with understanding visual information
Logopenic aphasia – Difficulty with language, speaking, and long pauses when they speak
Dysexecutive Alzheimer’s disease – Difficulty in decision making, and socially inappropriate behaviour.

Familial Alzheimer’s disease

Familial Alzheimer’s disease is a type of Alzheimer’s disease that is extremely rare. It is caused by the genetic mutations that run in the family. The youngest age you can get Alzheimer’s is in the ’30s, ’40s, and 50’s. The condition is more likely to be inherited if the symptoms appear early. The youngest age for Alzheimer’s disease is 23 (as evident from a case in Britain).

What are the Symptoms of Young-onset Dementia?

Memory loss may not be one of the first signs of young-onset dementia. Symptoms vary from person to person depending on the type of dementia they have and the regions of the brain they are affected by.

Therefore, the young-onset dementia symptoms may include changes in:

  • Personality
  • Behavior
  • Language
  • Social Functioning
  • Relationships with others
  • Everyday activities
  • Motivation
  • Moods
  • Concentration
  • Decision Making and Problem-solving
  • Vision and Spatial Awareness

These are the signs of Dementia at a young age. Furthermore, the person may not recognize the changes or be hesitant to acknowledge that something is wrong while they are generally healthy, delaying their visit to the doctor.

What do you need to do for Young-onset Dementia?

The family and individuals need to follow through with the following during the problem of dementia:

Early recognition of signs and symptoms

  • Access to the professional helpline
  • Accurate and timely diagnosis
  • Emotional support and counseling
  • Professional advice at the time of diagnosis
  • Age-appropriate information
  • Peer support groups etc.

Early detection and precise diagnosis of dementia, together with appropriate specialized assistance, can help people with young-onset dementia and their families feel less distressed.
It is a good idea to schedule an appointment with a doctor if you have any doubts. Seeing a doctor early on can help to alleviate anxiety and provide answers.

How to Prevent/Treat Dementia?

There is no proper cure for dementia so far. There are, however, remedies and support services available to those suffering from the illness. Drug and non-drug treatments, as well as support, activities, information, and advice, are all easily and readily available for the patients.

There are also non-drug treatments that can be used. Counselling may assist some younger people with dementia with their diagnosis. These sessions can help in coping up with the behavioural changes that a person may face during young-onset dementia. Healthcare practitioners have been successful in assisting patients in maintaining cognitive health, controlling behaviour, and slowing down the progression of the disease. Other things include staying physically active, eating a well-balanced diet, abstaining from smoking, and drinking alcohol in moderation.

Conclusion

The key element in the treatment of young-onset dementia is support. Connecting with support groups can help you find information, acquire a better knowledge of your disease, and learn how to adapt. Always remember that you’re not alone. Support options may differ depending on where you live, but you can always find it whenever you need it. In the early stages make sure that you and your family learn and adapt to the situation and find needful ways to cope with it. With good resources and support the disease is not that big a threat.

January 19, 2022 / by Aamir Khan
medical checkup

7 reasons why you should have a medical checkup on a regular basis?

A few years back, people would seek treatment or consult a doctor only when they were sick. But now, as people become more educated and empowered about their own health, they acknowledge the importance of regular health check-ups. They want to keep a healthy diet, weight, and level of physical activity to reduce their risk of developing certain illnesses or diseases.

Even doctors advise that people should get frequent medical check-ups to maintain their health. Simply going to the doctor for a regular check-up can ensure that you are getting screened and diagnosed for diseases. These examinations could be done quarterly, twice a year, or once a year. These tests can aid in the detection of any potential illnesses or diseases to which you may be vulnerable. Regular check-ups can help you improve your chances of receiving treatment and finding a cure more quickly.

Early detection increases your chances of receiving the best therapy possible and avoiding health-related problems. You’re taking critical steps toward living a longer, healthier life by getting the right health service and treatment.
Do Healthy People Require Full-Body Checkups? As strange as it may sound, everyone, no matter how healthy they are, requires regular health check-ups, to maintain proper health. A full-body checkup, according to medical professionals, is required for everyone, regardless of age or fitness level.

Why you should have a Medical Checkup?

Lower Healthcare costs

Even the best of us shiver at the prospect of a hefty medical bill. It is critical to arrange a regular health screening if one wishes to reduce their accumulated healthcare expenses. It is better to spend a penny and detect the problem early than to pay heavy bills at the time of treatment when it’s too late.

This particular habit of healthcare checkups saves money in the long run. This is because frequent health examinations reduce the risk of developing potentially hazardous health conditions in the future. It can also, in some situations, help to lower the risks of surgery and prevent you from bearing other major medical expenses.

Easier to control the disease at budding stages

Regular medical check-ups helps the doctors in diagnosing any serious disease or condition before it progresses to a more severe stage. These tests are carried out based on a person’s age, sex, medical history, and lifestyle choices. This ensures that an individual is completely tested based on all grounds.

If any problem is detected, doctors even recommend further texts and screening to get to the crux of the problem. So that it could be handled and taken care of at an early stage. These tests can detect diseases earlier, making the treatment procedure easier and thoroughly revised.

Identifies Stress-Related Diseases

We live in a world that moves at breakneck speed, with stressful job schedules and lifestyles. Some of the diseases or ailments in the human body are triggered by stress levels. An increase in stress and anxiety is directly linked to a variety of disorders, on both medical and psychological levels.

Hypertension, high blood pressure, weight gain, mental disorders, Alzheimer’s, depression, asthma, and even gastrointestinal issues are a few examples of the disease associated with stress and anxiety. Regular medical examinations make it easier to diagnose and recognize these issues before they become too serious. Regular check-ups can ensure that you receive the advice and assistance you require from your doctor in order to help you avoid the negative effects of a high-stress lifestyle which even helps in dealing with your mental health issues.

Keeps You Updated About Your Health

Your test results will provide your doctor with all the information they require about your health. They may warn you about any problem and/or offer to advise on how to best maintain your health, depending on your situation. When a problem is recognized early on, it can be treated with minor efforts and issues. If, on the other hand, the illness is discovered at an advanced level, it becomes extremely difficult to control and can even be a significant financial burden for the patient. Regular check-ups are an excellent way to keep informed about what you can do to enhance your health and lower your risk of disease.

Detection of Blood diseases

A blood test is a part of your whole body checkup and is a kinda important one. These procedures are carried out to reduce the possibility of illnesses manifesting inside your blood cells. Cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, anemia, HIV/AIDS, and coronary artery disease are among them. Blood tests also allow doctors to assess the health of numerous body organs such as the liver, kidneys, heart, and thyroid.

Build better rapport with doctors

In the medical field, a general and periodic health checkup is considered a healthy practice. Conducting periodic health checks implies paying more visits to the concerned doctor, which aids in the development of mutual trust. It is necessary to visit and consult the same doctor, in case of regular checkups, as they will know your medical history which will be beneficial in your treatment.

Adaptation of Healthy Habits

In today’s frantic world, it’s not easy or possible for you to find enough time and prepare a proper diet chart in order to stay healthy. Getting a frequent health exam provides you with a good understanding of how to adopt healthier eating habits by letting you know what to eat and what to avoid.
Consulting your doctor and preparing a proper dietary plan is the best way to introduce healthy habits to your lifestyle.

Conclusion

A regular health check-up helps in assessing various health problems, that you might be unaware of yet. If any disease or illness is discovered, the person is made aware of all the lifestyle and medicine modifications that must be made. Incorporating these modifications, including fitness regimens, healthy eating habits, and required safeguards, delivers a slew of benefits to your future lifetime, hence improving it.
We often take our mental and physical health for granted. All it takes is a little extra effort on our part, and our good health is not as far away as one may think.

January 19, 2022 / by Aamir Khan

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