Atypical Forms of Dementia Being Found in People in Their 50s and 60s

Atypical forms of dementia are being diagnosed more often in people in their 50s and 60s.

Ted Prewitt, who has behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), is one of a growing number of people in midlife diagnosed with an atypical form of dementia. Unlike Alzheimer’s, which generally occurs in older people, these are rarer dementias — including bvFTD; another frontotemporal variant that leads to language disturbances called primary progressive aphasia; a visual and spatial dementia called posterior cortical atrophy; Lewy body dementia; and early-onset Alzheimer’s in people with no family history.

These conditions show up in people in their 50s and 60s, sometimes even earlier and sometimes a bit later. No one knows whether these conditions are becoming more common or doctors are better at diagnosing them. ]