Presenile dementia is a form of dementia that affects individuals under the age of 65, with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease being the most common cause. Symptoms include memory loss, difficulty speaking and reading, mood changes, and difficulty with basic tasks. Treatment focuses on managing symptoms with antidepressants and other medications. The average lifespan after symptoms begin is 8-10 years.
Dementia is classified as a disruption of mental capacity as a result of organic deterioration, often caused by old age, chemical imbalance or head trauma. Presenile dementia is the onset of dementia due to organic deterioration that is not the result of old age. In presenile dementia, the patient’s symptoms may begin to occur in individuals as young as 40 or 50, whereas standard dementia typically does not begin presenting symptoms until age 65.
The most common cause of presenile dementia is early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. This disease attacks the frontal lobe of the brain and slowly begins to break down the organic matter of the brain, impeding or disabling the functions that the frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for. In most cases, the symptoms will begin to appear slowly, gradually declining. The rate of disease, however, tends to increase rapidly once full onset has begun, causing a steep decline in functional ability.
Presenile dementia has many debilitating side effects, often severely reducing the quality of life of the individual suffering from it. The most common side effect is memory loss, related to both events and people and places. Difficulty speaking and reading can also result from presenile dementia, as the brain is slowly losing the ability to correctly form sentences and understand the written word. Moods can also be drastically affected, with depression being a common side effect along with loss of judgment and coping skills. Finally, even basic tasks such as self-care become increasingly difficult, with hygiene problems occurring frequently.
The most common form of treatment for presenile dementia doesn’t actually treat the disease itself. Doctors often prescribe a variety of antidepressants and other medications designed to correct chemical imbalances in the brain. The most common drugs used are those designed to increase the brain’s production of serotonin, a natural chemical in the brain that increases an individual’s sense of well-being and overall mood. Drugs intended to treat attention deficit disorder may also be used, mainly given to counteract the impact on memory that presenile dementia has in its early stages.
The average person suffering from presenile dementia typically deals with a gradual onset of symptoms over an average of ten years. In rare cases, symptoms can progress from mild to severe within a few years. Even with prescriptions designed to minimize the early symptoms of the disease, most patients will generally have a life span of eight to ten years once symptoms start to show. The overall interval, however, can range from three to 15 years.
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