SerialStateLineXer t1_j8blsqu wrote on February 13, 2023 at 2:36 AM

Reply to comment by moredinosaurbutts 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

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 on February 13, 2023 at 2:58 AM

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 on February 13, 2023 at 5:42 AM

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.