DEMENTIA CAN AFFECT ANYBODY

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a rare type of dementia most often diagnosed in people aged 50-60. Frontotemporal dementia primarily causes neurons in the brain's frontal and temporal lobes to die. These areas of the brain are responsible for controlling emotions, social behaviour and other aspects. People with FTD may experience changes in their personality and the way they interact with others. As a result, it can become increasingly difficult for people living with FTD to adhere to social norms and behave appropriately. Apathy, irritability, tactlessness and social disinhibition are characteristic symptoms of FTD. Some patients experience severe speech disorders. An increase in memory loss only becomes more noticeable in the later stages of the disease.

Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a neurodegenerative disease triggered by the presence of characteristic inclusions in brain neurons. Otherwise known as Lewy bodies, these proteins can also be found in the brains of people diagnosed with Parkinson's, though in another part of the brain. 

LBD causes a progressive decline in mental abilities, usually starting with difficulties with orientation, organisational abilities and adaptive capacity. Mental abilities can vary significantly. Other symptoms include optical hallucinations, movement disorders with altered gait, trouble sleeping and psychological disorders. Symptoms of this incurable disease typically first occur over the age of 60 and are similar to those exhibited by people with Parkinson’s. However, with LBD, dementia symptoms appear before movement disorders.

Parkinson's disease is named after the English doctor James Parkinson, who was the first to describe the symptoms of this disease in great detail in 1817. Parkinson's disease is primarily characterized by slowed and weakened movements, stiffness of certain muscles and, in some cases, trembling hands and feet. It also involves psychological symptoms, such as disrupted sleep-wake cycles. Parkinson’s disease is marked by the cell death of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain. The resulting lack of dopamine leads to movement disorders. The cause of Parkinson’s disease remains unknown. An estimated 15,000 men and women in Switzerland are affected by Parkinson's disease. Due to the duration of Parkinson’s disease and the relatively young age of the patients, the disease is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia. It is caused by insufficient blood flow in the brain, resulting in cell death of neurons. Impaired blood supply is often the result of a stroke, or several small strokes, which can often go unnoticed. Other conditions such as the narrowing of capillaries in the brain can also prevent sufficient blood supply to brain cells.

Symptoms can occur suddenly or gradually over time and often vary significantly depending on the location of the damage in the brain. The most common symptoms include loss of language skills, slowness of thought, difficulties planning and performing actions along with difficulty walking, changes to personality and mood swings. Memory loss is not always observed at the onset of symptoms. 

Vascular dementia most commonly affects people in old age and may also present itself as a mixed dementia with symptoms of both Alzheimer's and vascular dementia.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the causes of which are unknown – with the exception of the rare, hereditary form –, is characterised by the progressive degeneration of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord responsible for muscle movements. This leads to irreversible muscle paralysis all over the body, eventually spreading to the respiratory muscles. ALS is not related to MS (multiple sclerosis). Each year, 1 or 2 people in every 100,000 are diagnosed with ALS. The disease usually first appears in patients between 50 and 70 years old. Currently, there is no effective treatment known to halt or reverse the disease, which has an average survival time of three to five years after diagnosis.

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders that cause the brain to become sponge-like due to the degradation of neurons. Nowadays, the pathogens are considered to be misfolded proteins, i.e. prions. Unlike viruses, bacteria and fungi, these do not contain any genetic material. In humans, prion diseases can either be genetic, sporadic or transmissible. The new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was most probably caused by beef infected with BSE (mad cow disease). There have been no cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in Switzerland to date.