At 24, many begin their adult lives; Andre Yarham, from Dereham in Norfolk, died in a hospice from a rare form of dementia
usually seen in people over 65 years old. After an MRI, doctors described a brain that resembled that of a septuagenarian, even though he was only 22 at the time of diagnosis.
There frontotemporal dementia which struck him affects the lobes of language, behavior and personality, and can appear in young adults. For Andre Yarham, the first signs appeared at the end of 2022, the diagnosis fell at 22 years old and the evolution was meteoric until his death on December 27, at 24 years old. One question remains for researchers: what can the brain of such a young patient reveal about this disease?
Andre Yarham, 24: a whirlwind journey to dementia
His mother, Samantha Fairbairn, notices that her 22-year-old son forgets things, sometimes behaves inappropriately and seems absent. Examinations at Norwich Hospital revealed an unusual shrinkage of the brain, confirmed at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge: the verdict was in, it was frontotemporal dementia linked to a protein mutation, a rare form which would represent one in twenty cases of dementia.
The disease then progresses very quickly. Samantha Fairbairn becomes a full-time caregiver, helping him wash, dress and eat. Andre entered the care home in September still walking slowly, but just over a month later he was in a wheelchair. A month before his death, he lost his speech and could only make sounds, although, according to his mother, he retained his personality, his humor, his laughter and his smile until the end. “Dementia does not discriminate against age“, she explained to the BBC to warn about these early forms.
Understanding frontotemporal dementia in young adults
Unlike Alzheimer’s disease, which first affects memory, frontotemporal dementia primarily attacks the frontal and temporal lobes, behind the forehead. These regions manage planning, impulse control, language and emotions; when they shrink, behavior changes, communication becomes difficult and those around them find themselves faced with a person who no longer acts as before.
In many cases, this pathology has a strong genetic component: mutations disrupt the management of certain proteins, which accumulate in neurons, prevent them from functioning and then cause their death, which causes the brain to shrink. In Andre, the MRI showed a volume comparable to that of a 70-year-old, not because his brain had “aged faster”, but because too many neurons had disappeared in a few years. The reasons why this process can sometimes begin so early in life remain poorly understood.
Why Andre’s brain donation interests researchers so much
His choice to give his brain at Addenbrooke’s Hospital offers researchers a rare case to analyze the proteins involved, the fragile neurons and the role of inflammation.
Today, this disease has no cure. Once symptoms appear, the outcome is known. This therapeutic impotence is partly linked to the complexity of the brain. As such, each donation is important to fill this gap. And brains with very early-stage dementia are extremely rare. Each donation allows researchers to precisely examine cellular and protein dysfunctions. Although brain imaging scans can show areas of damage, only donated brain tissue can reveal the causes.
The goal for scientists is to analyze which proteins accumulated, identify the most vulnerable cells, and understand how inflammation and immune responses contributed to the damage. This knowledge is essential for developing treatments that could slow down, stop, or even prevent dementia in the future.
As much as the efforts of scientists, the generosity of people ready to donate their tissues helps advance research for everyone. The story of this 24-year-old reminds us that dementia is not a unique disease and that it does not only affect older people.