A Chinese teenager may be the youngest person ever to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a January study from the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Researchers from Capital Medical University’s Xuanwu Hospital in Beijing diagnosed a 19-year-old man with the brain disorder after he showed “gradual memory decline for 2 years,” leaving him unable to complete high school.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and affects memory, thinking and behaviour. The degenerative disease primarily affects older adults, making this case truly exceptional.
Read more: ‘This is painful’: Bruce Willis’ family says his condition has worsened Read next: Part of the Sun breaks free and forms a strange vortex, baffling scientists “This case brings attention to the heterogeneous nature of dementia that can involve people at any age,” said George Perry, notable neuroscientist and editor-in-chief of the journal. “Significantly, this finding may separate Alzheimer’s disease from the complexity of aging and open the field to new concepts to promote innovation.” Perry was not involved in the study.