China News Service, Shanghai, February 26 (Reporter Zheng Yingying) Recently, a 19-year-old case of early-onset Alzheimer's disease has attracted everyone's attention.

Should young people be wary of dementia?

Is Alzheimer's disease showing a "younger" trend?

　　On the 26th, the Shanghai Popular Science Forum invited Yu Jintai, deputy director of the Neurology Department of Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University and the leader of the cognitive impairment direction of the National Neurological Disease Medical Center, to share relevant content of Alzheimer's disease with the public, and guide the public to face up to Alzheimer's disease .

　　Yu Jintai said that with the deepening of the aging process, there are more and more patients with Alzheimer's disease, and this disease has attracted more and more public attention.

Lecture 192 of Shanghai Science Popularization Forum: Will young people suffer from Alzheimer's disease?

Photo by Zheng Yingying

　　Celebrities such as former US President Ronald Reagan and the "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher all suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

　　Yu Jintai said that when the above content was introduced before, some audience members asked, does it mean that the more you use your brain, the easier it is to get this disease?

　　"Actually not. These are just a few examples. For Alzheimer's disease, the more you use your brain, the lower your risk of getting the disease. The more you use your brain, the more flexible it becomes, rather than the more you use it, the more it shrinks." Yu Jintai explained.

　　He introduced that Alzheimer's disease diagnosed under the age of 65 belongs to early-onset Alzheimer's disease; those over 65 years old belong to late-onset Alzheimer's disease, which is often called "senile dementia". .

　　"In fact, we often encounter some early-onset cases in outpatient clinics, but most of them are still between 40 and 50 years old. There are cases of onset younger than 40 years old, but they are very rare." Yu Jintai said.

　　He pointed out that the probability of similar "individual cases" is very low and basically will not happen.

　　In other words, it is rare for young people to get sick, and there is no need to panic.

Most people have benign amnesia, and understanding the symptoms of early-onset Alzheimer's disease can help to distinguish between early-onset Alzheimer's disease and benign amnesia.

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