In 2023 a 19-year-old male teenager was suffering from memory decline that first began when he was 17 years of age. His cognitive losses continued during the next few years. The teen’s neurologists, who were treating him at a memory clinic in China, believed he had early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). If they were correct, he would then be the youngest person worldwide to receive that diagnosis.

Imaging Showed Shrinkage

Imaging of the patient’s brain confirmed shrinkage in the hippocampus while cerebrospinal fluid suggested markers of dementia. Although AD is usually associated with elderly people, 10% of diagnoses are in people younger than 65.

Researchers have found that most people under age 30 who have been diagnosed with AD have exhibited pathological gene mutations. This suggests association with familiar Alzheimer’s disease (FAD). People receiving this diagnosis are more likely to have a faulty, inherited gene. It was difficult to categorize the teen’s symptoms as FAD because there was not one person in his family with a history of dementia or Alzheimer’s. His neurologists were unable to uncover diseases, infections or even head trauma that might explain his rapid cognitive decline. Yet Beijing’s researchers in Capital Medical University performed a genome-wide search and were unable to find any of the mutations usually responsible for such early onset memory loss.

Recent History

Prior to being enrolled at the clinic, the patient exhibited difficulty focusing in class. His short-term memory was beginning to fail, and reading was difficult. He was able to remember events that occurred the previous day but on a daily basis remembering where he left things became a problem. The teen’s memory deteriorated to the point where he was unable to graduate from high school. Within a short period of time, he began to lose immediate and short recall, as well as long delay recall. His memory score was recorded as 82% lower than his peers.

Long-Term Follow-Up

Long-term follow-up is needed to give weight to the patient’s diagnosis. There were no clear pathogenic mutations which is an indication that AD does not follow one pathway. These mysteries will be a challenging question for future discussion.