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Apathy - a lack of interest or motivation - could predict the onset of some forms of dementia many years before symptoms start, offering a window of opportunity to treat the disease at an early stage, according to new research from a team of scientists led by Professor James Rowe at the University of Cambridge.
Frontotemporal dementia is a significant cause of dementia among younger people. It is often diagnosed between the ages of 45 and 65. It changes behaviour, language and personality, leading to impulsivity, socially inappropriate behaviour, and repetitive or compulsive behaviours.
A common feature of frontotemporal dementia is apathy, with a loss of motivation, initiative and interest in things. It is not depression, or laziness, but it can be mistaken for them. Brain scanning studies have shown that in people with frontotemporal dementia it is caused by shrinkage in special parts at the front of the brain - and the more severe the shrinkage, the worse the apathy.
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Apathy is the lack of interest or motivation to do anything. It could also be a symptom of a serious mental health problem, like Parkinson s disease, and dementia which involves thinking and using emotions.
According to WebMD, apathy is not feeling much of anything. What excites you in the past does not excite you anymore. Apathy makes the person no longer feel motivated to achieve their goals.
According to research led by Professor James Rowe of the University of Cambridge, apathy offers a window of opportunity to treat dementia at its earliest stage several years before its symptoms appear.
Apathy found to be early warning sign of dementia in your 40s, giving hope of early treatments
Researchers warned that a loss of mojo in midlife could be actually be a sign of the brain disorder
15 December 2020 • 1:04pm
Apathy in your 40s could be an early warning sign of dementia which appears decades before other symptoms, Cambridge University scientists have found.
The study raises hopes of early treatment for the condition which affects almost a million people in the UK.
Researchers found that apathy, such as a lack of interest or motivation, is an important symptom of dementia and one which can accelerate someone’s decline in later life.