Qiushi

　　"This is the youngest known clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease patient." Recently, a paper written by Jia Jianping's team from Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University was published in an internationally renowned Alzheimer's disease research journal. According to the article, a 19-year-old boy who came to the hospital was clinically diagnosed as a patient with Alzheimer's disease.

One of the authors of the paper, Jia Longfei, chief physician of the Neurology Department of Xuanwu Hospital, said that the case was so rare that he could not believe the results of the examination.

("Beijing Youth Daily" on February 5)

　　In recent years, topics such as "why young people like to forget things" and "whether 'youth dementia' really exists" have repeatedly aroused social attention and heated discussions.

A 19-year-old boy was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Although it is a rare case, it has once again heated up the topic of "young people forgetting things", making some young people worry about whether they have Alzheimer's disease. The possibility, but also once again brings the thinking of the disease name - because of the younger trend of Alzheimer's disease, the disease is commonly called "senile dementia" or it is no longer appropriate.

　　The movie "Mom!

"It tells the story of an 85-year-old mother taking care of her 65-year-old daughter suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The affection and tenacity of the mother and daughter moved countless people.

But it is not a long-term solution for elderly parents to take care of sick children. It is more troublesome to take care of Alzheimer's patients. There are many sick elderly people who get lost every year. The prevalence of young people is getting higher and higher. Who will take care of them in the future? These young patients will become a prominent social problem.

It is said that the 19-year-old boy is still able to live independently, but the disease will progressively worsen. His parents must be particularly worried about how he will spend his long life in the future.

　　There are more and more young patients, which is not unrelated to the continuous improvement of diagnosis and treatment technology and the easier diagnosis of young patients who were difficult to diagnose clearly in the past.

But we must also see that the rejuvenation of geriatric diseases is also a trend, and Alzheimer's disease is no exception.

The "Standards for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Mental Disorders (2020 Edition)" formulated by the National Health and Medical Commission pointed out that possible risk factors for Alzheimer's disease include increasing age, female sex, low education level, smoking, middle-aged hypertension and obesity, hearing impairment, and cerebral palsy. Trauma, lack of exercise, social isolation, diabetes and depressive disorders, etc.

Many of these risk factors are becoming more common among young people, and this change will also lead to a younger trend in Alzheimer's disease.

　　From this point of view, this incident is a warning to young people. It is time to prevent geriatric diseases including Alzheimer's disease as early as possible.

A survey report released on World Alzheimer's Disease Day (September 21) last year showed that over 90% of people in my country are aware of Alzheimer's disease, but only over 10% actively seek treatment.

The prevention and treatment of this disease has the "three high problems" of high incidence, high missed diagnosis rate and high treatment cost.

Young people should not only learn more about Alzheimer's disease, but also seek medical treatment in time when suspicious symptoms are found.

　　Strengthening physical exercise and changing unhealthy lifestyles are more effective in curing the root cause.

In September 2019, the National Health and Medical Commission issued the "Core Information on Alzheimer's Disease Prevention and Intervention", advocating the formation of a healthy lifestyle, including cultivating exercise habits and hobbies, healthy eating, quitting smoking and limiting alcohol, learning more, and using the brain more , participate in more social activities, maintain an optimistic attitude, and avoid social isolation.

In terms of reducing the risk of illness, we must focus on preventing middle-aged obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Concerned about the phenomenon of "a 19-year-old boy suffering from Alzheimer's disease", we should turn our worries into actions and try our best to eliminate all kinds of incentives for Alzheimer's disease, so that youth will become healthier and more beautiful.