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Review
. 2017 May;35(2):263-281.
doi: 10.1016/j.ncl.2017.01.005.

Early-Onset Alzheimer Disease

Mario F Mendez  1
Affiliations
Review

Early-Onset Alzheimer Disease

Mario F Mendez. Neurol Clin. 2017 May.

Abstract

Early-onset Alzheimer disease (EOAD), with onset in individuals younger than 65 years, although overshadowed by the more common late-onset AD (LOAD), differs significantly from LOAD. EOAD comprises approximately 5% of AD and is associated with delays in diagnosis, aggressive course, and age-related psychosocial needs. One source of confusion is that a substantial percentage of EOAD are phenotypic variants that differ from the usual memory-disordered presentation of typical AD. The management of EOAD is similar to that for LOAD, but special emphasis should be placed on targeting the specific cognitive areas involved and more age-appropriate psychosocial support and education.

Keywords: Alzheimer disease; Dementia; Early-onset dementia; Logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia; Progressive cortical atrophy; Young-onset dementia.

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Conflict of interest statement

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

The Author has nothing to disclose. The author has no commercial or financial conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Type 2 AD (variant phenotypes of EOAD) vs. Typical amnestic AD (aEOAD and aLOAD). Significantly modified and adapted from Van der Flier et al, 2011{van der Flier, 2011 #5}. The non-amnestic variant phenotypes (logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia, posterior cortical atrophy, and other proposed variants) tend to occur in the early-onset age range and are depicted as colored lines.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Voxel-based morphometry of parietal overlap of EOAD phenotypes
Light green represents overlap of all EOAD variants. Green=Type 2 AD-lvPPA; Blue=Type 2 AD-PCA; Red= Other EOAD. Source of neuroimage: Migliaccio R, Agosta F, Rascovsky K, et al. Clinical syndromes associated with posterior atrophy: early age at onset AD spectrum. Neurology. 2009;73(19):1571–1578.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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