Experts warn of common but little-known insanities

Since Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia—affecting about 6.7 million Americans—it’s not surprising that people who experience memory loss may suspect AD.

In fact, there is another common cognitive disorder with very similar symptoms called TDP-43 limbic-predominant age-related encephalopathy—or LATE for short—that is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s.

A recent report published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association emphasizes the need to develop “objective criteria” for diagnosing and staging all types of dementia, including LATE.

How is LATE different from Alzheimer’s?

LATE is a prevalent condition in late life and can contribute to memory loss and cognitive decline, according to report co-author Rebecca M. Edelmayer, Ph.D., vice president of scientific engagement at the Alzheimer’s Association in Chicago.

“LATE is defined by changes in the TDP-43 protein in brain tissue and often coexists with Alzheimer’s disease changes, such as the accumulation of amyloid beta plaques and tau tangles,” she told Fox News Digital.

The newly proposed criteria are intended to help doctors better distinguish LATE from Alzheimer’s, ultimately leading to more accurate diagnoses and improved treatment strategies, Edelmayer noted.

LATE tends to have a slower rate of decline than Alzheimer’s, according to lead author David Wolk, a professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania.

The condition occurs alongside Alzheimer’s disease in about a third of patients, the doctor estimated, and appears to accelerate the course of the disease.

More than 25% of people over 80 have this form of dementia.

“Despite the commonality of the condition, most clinicians and patients have never heard of LATE and do not consider it when memory loss is present,” noted Wolk.

“Knowing whether it is present with Alzheimer’s disease also affects prognosis and may affect the efficacy of treatments.”

Before the criteria presented in the new report, there was no consensus on how to diagnose this condition.

“It was only determined at autopsy,” Wolk said.

“These criteria provide a way for doctors to diagnose the disease, which is an important step both in clinical practice and ultimately in research to better treat the condition.”

While a diagnostic test exists to definitively measure Alzheimer’s disease, no such test exists for LATE, Wolk noted.

“The criteria provide levels of likelihood of diagnosis, but they cannot be conclusive,” he told Fox News Digital. “Also, the criteria must be proven in practice.”

In the near future, Edelmayer noted, advances in biomarkers will help doctors distinguish between all the different types of dementia.

“Until those tools are available, clinical criteria for diagnosis — like the one we just published — can be used to support a more personalized medicine approach to treatment, care and enrollment in clinical trials,” she told Fox News Digital. .

“In addition, these new recommendations create a roadmap that identifies opportunities for further research and the challenges that still remain for accurately diagnosing individuals with LATE.”