There is no cure for Pick’s disease and medications for Alzheimer’s have no benefit.
However, behavioral strategies and medication can help ease symptoms and improve the quality of life.
What Causes Pick’s Disease?
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Pick’s disease is named after psychiatrist Arnold Pick who first identified the condition in 1922.
What is known is that Pick’s disease is characterized by the formation of so-called “Pick bodies.”
As more nerve cells die, functions regulated by the frontal and temporal lobes start to deteriorate.
With the frontal lobe, this includes voluntary movement, expressive language, andexecutive functionslike planning and organization.
With the temporal lobe, emotions, retrieving memories, and language comprehension are affected.
The abnormal production of tau protein is also involved with Alzheimer’s disease but in different ways.
With Alzheimer’s, tau protein production is higher and contributes to the formation of twisted filaments called tangles.
With both diseases, genetics are thought to play a central role.
This includes a known mutation affecting the MAPT gene which regulates tau protein production.
While many people with Pick’s disease have the MAPT mutation, others don’t.
Today, alumbar puncture (spinal tap)can do so.
It is then tested for substances unique to each condition.
Other biomarkers will also differ.
Pick’s disease isn’t life-threatening in and of itself.
Because of this, individuals with Pick’s disease are at increased risk of falls and avoidable infections.
Pneumoniais the most common cause of death in people with FTD/Pick’s disease.
However, as time goes by, the differences become increasingly more obvious.
This is due in large part to the parts of the brain each affects.
With Pick’s disease, the frontal and temporal lobes are affected.
This, along with the differences in disease stages, can lead to a very different set of symptoms.
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