DEAR DR. GOTT: Some years ago, you wrote an article on Pick’s disease that I misplaced. Can you discuss it once again?
DEAR READER: Pick’s is a rare but permanent form of dementia similar to Alzheimer’s disease. It has a tendency to affect only certain areas of the brain and can affect people as young as 20; however, it is more common in people closer to 55 or 60. People with Pick’s have abnormal substances known as Pick bodies and Pick cells inside nerve cells within damaged areas of the brain.
Tissue in the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain shrink over time and result in impaired thought processes, behavioral changes and difficulties with speech. [Read more...]