At the age of 22, the brain became like that of a 70-year-old man. Read the shocking story of this medical case.

News Topical, Digital Desk : The case of Andre Yarham, Britain's youngest patient to experience dementia at the age of 22, could help researchers understand the causes of the disease in young adulthood, its protein deposits, and its effects on brain cells. This could lead to the discovery of new treatments for rare cases, as it shows that dementia is not just a disease of old age and highlights the need for investment in brain research.

brain like that of a 70-year-old

Andre Yarham recently passed away from the disease at the age of just 24. Yarham's family decided to donate his brain for research. This is an extraordinary gift, turning tragedy into hope for others. Andre Yarham, from Norfolk, England, was only 22 when he was first diagnosed with dementia .

According to MRI scans, Yarham's brain was that of a 70-year-old, which helped diagnose the disease. His family says he gradually became forgetful, sometimes with a blank expression on his face. In his later years, he lost his language, became unable to care for himself, behaved inappropriately, and became wheelchair-dependent.

Biological causes behind frontotemporal dementia

Rare early cases like these suggest that dementia isn't just a problem of aging, but may have biological causes that begin in childhood or adolescence. This is called frontotemporal dementia. Unlike Alzheimer's disease, which first affects memory, frontotemporal dementia attacks parts of the brain involved in personality, behavior, and language. These areas are in the brain's frontal and temporal lobes, located at the back of the brain and above the ears.

These areas help us plan, control impulses, understand speech, and express ourselves. When they are damaged, people may become introverted, impulsive, or unable to communicate. Frontotemporal dementia is a less common type of dementia, estimated to cause about one in 20 cases. It can appear in young people. In many cases, frontotemporal dementia has a strong genetic component. Changes in specific genes can disrupt how brain cells handle proteins.

brain cells stop working

Instead of being broken down and recycled, these proteins accumulate inside neurons (brain cells), interfering with their ability to function and survive. Over time, the affected brain cells stop working and die. As more cells are lost, the brain tissue itself shrinks.

Why this process sometimes begins so early in life is still not fully understood. Brain scans taken while Yarham was alive showed startling shrinkage. The brain did not "age rapidly" in the usual sense. Instead, the disease had caused a large number of neurons to be lost over a short period of time. The brain changes slowly in old age, but in aggressive dementia, networks throughout the brain collapse.

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