What is rare or young onset dementia?

Dementia is a term referring to changes in our mental abilities to the extent that these changes affect our day-to-day functioning and worsen over time. Dementia can be caused by different diseases or conditions that affect the brain in different ways. Although Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia are the most common forms of dementia there are many.

The term rare dementia is normally used to refer to dementia diagnoses that are less common than Alzheimer’s disease, often occurring at a younger age (under 65), and can cause symptoms that are not memory-led.

They include but are not limited to:

PCA

Posterior cortical atrophy

FTD

Frontotemporal dementia

PPA

Primary progressive aphasia

LBD

Lewy body dementia

fFTD

Familial FTD

fAD

Familial Alzheimer’s disease

Rarer forms of dementia can also be diagnosed at a later age.

Alzheimer’s disease can occur at a younger age and is referred to as young onset Alzheimer’s disease (YOAD).

Like the term dementia, young onset dementia is a term to indicate dementia occurring at a young age. Although frequently used, it does not distinguish the type of condition or disease (the medical diagnosis) that is causing someone’s dementia.

There are other types of dementia that can affect younger people such as:

Vascular dementia
Alcohol-related dementia
Mixed dementia
Huntington’s disease
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
ALS

If you would like more information, you can contact us rdscanada@nipissingu.ca.