Scientists identify another type of dementia

New type of dementia.
(Image credit: undefined undefined/ iStock)

Doctors are officially recognizing a new brain disorder that falls under the umbrella of dementia. While this new disease may come with many of the same symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, is thought to affect the brain differently and develop more slowly, and may be more common in elderly people.

The new type of dementia, called "limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy," or LATE for short, was identified and described in a new report published in the journal Brain on Tuesday. If the name sounds complicated, the disease is even more so: Because many forms of dementia can cause similar symptoms, and even overlap with each other, telling the difference and making the right diagnosis can get tricky.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.