moredinosaurbutts t1_j8bjxzr wrote
Reply to comment by houseman1131 in Chinese researchers have reported what they claim is the world’s youngest person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which may overturn the conventional perception that cognitive impairment rarely occurs in young people. by Wagamaga
Awful! I wonder if it's linked to their rapid brain development? I guess it makes some amount of sense. If the brain is deteriorating, the brain creates new pathways - but if those pathways weren't already there, or they were highly fluid and evolving, then all it does is contribute to faster cognitive decline.
SerialStateLineXer t1_j8blsqu wrote
It's probably just that the more aggressive degenerative process needed for onset at a young age also leads to faster progression.
moredinosaurbutts t1_j8bovn8 wrote
True, hadn't considered that. The article does mention that it raises the possibility of Alzheimer's originating in adolescence before late adulthood. So perhaps this is merely very aggressive phenotype as you suggest.
SerialStateLineXer t1_j8c8hox wrote
It's worth keeping in mind that most common neurodegenerative diseases are syndromes: clusters of diseases defined by symptoms and certain aspects of the disease process rather than by root cause. Even Huntington disease is actually a class of genetic mutation rather than one specific mutation: a sequence of three nucleotides is repeated many times, but the number of repetitions varies and affects the severity and age of onset. There are dozens of different mutations known to cause ALS, and severity, age of onset, and specific symptoms vary accordingly.
Harsimaja t1_j8i8ps5 wrote
The people who cross the 1 mile mark in a marathon first are also more likely to get from the 1 mile mark to the 2 mile mark fastest. The causes - buildup of tau proteins and/or whatnot - are probably developing faster in general.
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