19-yr-old in China dies due to Alzheimer's, reseachers claim he was youngest patient ever

In a concerning case, researchers have claimed a teenager in China who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease died at the age of 19 making him the youngest patient to carry Alzheimer's syndrome.

The researchers found out that the probable Alzheimer’s in the 19-year-old boy came after two years of gradual memory decline followed by hippocampal atrophy, concentration issues, and memory loss.

19-yr-old dies of Alzheimer's, researchers claim he was youngest to be diagnosed with this illness

The proceedings of the study were published by researchers belonging to the Capital Medical University’s Xuanwu Hospital in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. "This case brings attention to the heterogeneous nature of dementia that can involve people of any age," said the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, George Perry, to the South China Morning Post. The latest finding may open the field to new concepts to promote innovation, he added. Notably, the case has shed light on several unique features of the disease.

What did researchers observe?

During the research, the experts found that the patient had high levels of the p-tau181 protein in the cerebrospinal fluid, whereas there was no buildup of the other two proteins in the body. The second shocking feature that was found in this case was the lack of any gene mutations. It is pertinent to note that all the cases of Alzheimer’s in people under 30 are due to inherited faulty genes, but in this case, all the genes were missing.

Even the previous youngest case, that of a 21-year-old, was due to the same condition. The experts came to this conclusion after administering standard cognitive tests to detect memory loss. They observed that the patient was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and the results revealed that the 19-year-old boy's memory was severely impaired due to the illness. In light of early-onset Alzheimer’s being on the rise among younger patients, the latest case study is likely to become a vital precedent.

Image: AP