500,000 Americans Ages 30-65 Have Alzheimer's

That's one of the key takeaways from a Contra Costa Times article on early onset Alzheimer's disease. One in ten victims are younger than 65 -- sometimes much younger.

Jackie Burrell's piece cites a 55 year old who couldn't navigate through her office building; a 38 year old not recognizing the family dog; and a 50 year old who repeatedly got lost in her hometown.

One problem is that doctors don't consider Alzheimer's as a possibility when diagnosing younger patients -- so figuring out what's wrong can take years.

And once diagnosed, the problems facing younger victims -- especially those with small children -- are very different from the typical older Alzheimer's patient.

Life expectancy from diagnosis can range from three to twenty years. As Burrell writes in her extensive and interesting story, "There are no cheery survivors with inspirational tales of how they beat the disease, just stories of families doing the best they can."