An individual who displays memory loss, confusion, poor judgment, repetition, and difficulty completing day-to-day activities shows classic symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, right? But, in actuality, what might look to be an obvious case of Alzheimer’s could be a newly discovered form of dementia: LATE disease.
Referred to as LATE, or limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, this diagnosis includes almost the same symptoms, but the underlying cause is another story. Instead of the buildup of amyloid plaques and tangles inherent with Alzheimer’s, LATE disease is diagnosed by deposits of TDP-43 protein, according to Dr. Julie Schneider, associate director of the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center.
And TDP-43 protein troubles happen to be quite common in older adults, with as many as one in four seniors over age 85 affected enough to cause detectable thinking or memory problems. Unfortunately, however, it remains an under-diagnosed condition, which can lead to misdiagnosis and, therefore, inappropriate treatment options.
The latest recommendations call for seniors who have been diagnosed with LATE to be pulled from Alzheimer’s medication research, concentrating research instead of on establishing biomarkers to diagnose LATE disease better, identify therapeutic intervention methods, and increase testing to include a broader selection of diverse populations, to improve both prevention and treatment.
Becoming familiar with the differences between both forms of dementia is key to the best treatment. According to Dr. James Pickett, head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, “This evidence may also go some way to help us understand why some recent clinical trials testing for Alzheimer’s disease have failed – participants may have had slightly different brain diseases.”
Critical aspects of LATE include:
Predominantly affecting older adults over age 80
A much slower advancement than Alzheimer’s
For the most part, it only affects memory
It May be combined with Alzheimer’s disease, which leads to a more rapid decline
Whether Alzheimer’s disease, LATE, or some other form of dementia, Modern Health Home Care provides fully customized, skilled, and creative home care services to help seniors live the best possible quality of life where it’s most comfortable: at home. Our home healthcare agency in Philadelphia provides professionally trained and experienced caregivers in helping those diagnosed with dementia, along with helping family caregivers, to more fully manage the varying difficulties experienced in each stage.
Call us at 215.995.2012 to request additional dementia care resources, find answers to your questions, or even schedule an in-home assessment to discover more about how we can assist a senior you love with dementia.
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