Atypical Form of Alzheimer's Primarily Affects Men

The Alzheimer's Association estimates that approximately 5.2 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's Disease, a common form of dementia marked by memory loss. Yet diagnosing the health issue may not always be so simple.

A recent study conducted by researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Florida examines the discovery of an atypical type of Alzhiemer's--one that neuroscientists claim is not well recognized nor appropriately treated.

For the study, researchers examined around 1,820 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and found that close to 11 percent of them carried a variant called hippocampal sparing AD--a high enough figure to estimate that the general population is affected.

Men are more likely to be afflicted by the issue at a younger age, with symptoms ranging from behavioral issues to thoughts that they may be controlled by an "alien" power.

"Many of these patients, however, have memories that are near normal, so clinicians often misdiagnose them with a variety of conditions that do not match the underlying neuropathology," said the study's lead author, Melissa Murray, Ph.D., an assistant professor of neuroscience at the clinic, via Medical Xpress.

"What is tragic is that these patients are commonly misdiagnosed and we have new evidence that suggests drugs now on the market for AD could work best in these hippocampal sparing patients - possibly better than they work in the common form of the disease."