'Mum's young-onset dementia is 'heartbreaking' says Bristol woman
The daughter of a 58-year-old woman diagnosed with young-onset dementia is sharing her experience to help raise awareness of the condition.Emily Britton, 29, from Bristol, said she knew the symptoms her mum, Maria Britton, was showing in 2023 seemed serious but after initially being put down to the menopause it took months of "pushing" to discover the true cause.Ms Britton, who works as a cabin manager for EasyJet, said in under two years she had gone from being her mum's daughter to her carer which was "heartbreaking".A spokesperson for the Alzheimer's Society said dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK and one in three people will develop dementia in their lifetime.
Dementia is most common in people over the age of 65, but about 70,800 people in the UK are living with young-onset dementia, typically diagnosed before the age of 65, according to the Alzheimer's Society.Ms Britton said she wanted to raise awareness as "so many" people talk about cancer, but few realise the likelihood of developing dementia.
Less than two years ago, Ms Britton, her mum, and her brother Harry were looking forward to the "holiday of a lifetime" in Disneyland, Florida."My brother had generously paid for my mum, who had always wanted to go, but just before we went things didn't seem right with her," she said."She'd become withdrawn and quiet and went from being so excited, to seeming like she couldn't care less, and lost her normal mannerisms."I was constantly asking her 'are you okay?'. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know what."
'Really quiet'
After they returned home, Ms Britton said her mum, who worked in accounts, admitted she had been making mistakes at work, but she did not know why.She encouraged her to visit a doctor and Maria was told she was experiencing symptoms of the menopause and put on HRT.That was between September and December 2023, during which time Maria's boss suggested she take time off work to get better."By January she'd become really quiet and distanced herself, like she didn't really want to talk," said Ms Britton."It was really, really strange and not like her, because she was so chatty before, you could never get her to be quiet."Ms Britton pushed for another GP appointment and her mum was referred for a CT scan but no abnormalities were highlighted so she was referred to a brain clinic.
Maria resigned from her job, Ms Britton said, adding: "Her speech deteriorated, she would stutter a lot, and she gradually became unable to put sentences together."She was referred to the Dementia Wellbeing Service who visited within the month."That was around the end of August and they did a really thorough investigation, and by this time, mum's speech was worse along with the motor skills of her hands," Ms Britton said."The dementia clinic came back and said mum has a dementia and they believed it to be the behavioural variant - frontotemporal dementia."
Having frontotemporal dementia means her mum still knows who everyone is but it has impacted her speech and personality."Mum can only say yes or no now, and her processing's so bad she can't do anything for herself except walk around. In every aspect of her life she needs help," Ms Britton added.Carers visit three times a day but Ms Britton prepares all her mum's meals, as well as cleaning, shopping and helping her shower. "I change her bedding. I do her laundry. I take care of her finances. I take her to all her appointments. So anything a human needs, especially someone who does have an illness, I do for her."
'Quite scary'
Ms Britton said: "At times it is overwhelming and crazy. Twenty months ago she was working, she seemed herself, and now, I'm like her parent, you know the roles are reversed significantly."Now she loves Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol… she loves walking around with her teddy bear."Some days I think – and it sounds selfish – but I just wish I didn't have to be this carer role anymore, because it takes so much away from me and my mum, too."But I never want to see mum sad, so everything I do is for her."Ms Britton and her brother Harry have learned the dementia her mum has is hereditary, so they her are in the process of being referred to a genetics clinic."We can be tested if we want to be. It's quite scary but we're just trying to get on with everything, maintain our lives and be as happy as we can be."
Ms Britton wants to raise awareness of the condition and recently joined more than 1,000 people for a 26-mile (41.8km) fundraising walk in the Lake District with her brother Harry and partner Lloyd.More than £600,000 was raised for the Alzheimer's Society, with the charity being fundamental to helping her cope, she said."They supported me and my family through the diagnosis and they're there at the end of the phone whenever you need them", she added.Ms Britton said people do not realise how quickly dementia can deteriorate and advised anyone else going through something similar to "trust your instinct"."I knew immediately on that holiday there was so much more to the quietness and her being withdrawn. I even Googled early-onset dementia when I was away and everyone thought I was being silly."With something like this, the earlier you can - not catch it, because obviously it's not fixable - but the earlier you can recognise signs the easier it is for things to be put in place quicker."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Medical News Today
25 minutes ago
- Medical News Today
Insulin resistance test may help predict early Alzheimer's cognitive decline rate
There is currently no tool for predicting how quickly early stage Alzheimer's disease will progress. A new study has identified a simple blood test used to measure insulin resistance that may also help doctors determine which people with early stage Alzheimer's disease are most likely to experience rapid cognitive decline. The test found that higher insulin resistance indicated quicker deterioration in cognitive estimate that about 69 million people around the world are living with prodromal Alzheimer's disease, or early stage Alzheimer's disease. People in the earliest stage of Alzheimer's disease begin to experience some mild cognitive impairment that may affect their memory and ability to complete tasks and communicate. Past studies show that detecting Alzheimer's disease in its earliest stage allows currently available medications and lifestyle changes to be more effective in helping to slow down disease progression. 'Alzheimer's (disease) begins silently, often decades before symptoms appear, and so detecting risk early is essential to slow or alter the disease course,' Bianca Gumina, MD, a neurology resident for the Neurology Unit in the Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences at the University of Brescia and for the Neurology Unit in the Department of Continuity of Care and Frailty at ASST Spedali Civili Hospital, both in Italy, told Medical News Today. 'Current tools can diagnose the disease, but they don't always predict how fast it will progress. Identifying individuals at higher risk of rapid decline [c]ould allow for timely, targeted interventions during a critical window when the disease could be still responsive to treatment or changes in (lifestyle),' she is part of the research team for a study recently presented at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress 2025 that has identified a simple blood test used to measure insulin resistance that may also help doctors determine which people with early stage Alzheimer's disease are most likely to experience rapid cognitive decline. The findings of the study are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed TyG Index Test for Alzheimer'sFor this study, researchers analyzed medical records from 315 adults with an average age of about 70 that did not have diabetes. Two hundred of the study participants had received biological confirmation they had Alzheimer's disease. All study participants received insulin resistance assessment using a test called the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, with a clinical follow-up three years later. 'The TyG index is a validated marker of insulin resistance, a condition often seen in prediabetes or metabolic syndrome,' Gumina explained. 'It combines triglycerides and fasting blood glucose, two common and non-invasive blood values. (It is) easy to calculate and already available in routine labs.' Higher TyG index results predict quicker cognitive declineAt the study's conclusion, the research team found that when grouping study participants by their TyG index results, those in the highest TyG index group experienced a quicker deterioration in cognitive decline than those with lower TyG index results. 4-fold higher risk'This finding is significant because it highlights a vulnerable window (mild cognitive impairment, the early phase of the disease) when the disease may be especially sensitive to metabolic stress. Patients in this early phase with high TyG levels had a fourfold increased risk of rapid cognitive decline compared to those with lower TyG levels. This suggests that insulin resistance may actively influence how fast Alzheimer's progresses, and identifying this risk early could open new avenues for intervention.'— Bianca Gumina, MD'The TyG index is a low-cost, widely available tool that could be easily integrated into routine clinical practice to flag patients at higher risk of rapid decline,' she continued. 'By identifying these individuals early, clinicians could prioritize them for closer monitoring, lifestyle interventions, or even enrollment in clinical trials, maybe individualizing sub phenotypes of the disease. It also supports the development of metabolic-based treatment strategies, potentially paving the way for therapies targeting insulin resistance to modify disease progression.'As for the next steps in this research, Gumina said the research group is currently exploring whether the TyG index also correlates with neuroimaging biomarkers of brain degeneration. 'The next goal is to integrate metabolic profiling with genetic and imaging data to refine risk models and guide early, personalized interventions,' she added. New potential variable for Alzheimer's progression predictionsMNT spoke with Rehan Aziz, MD, geriatric psychiatrist at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in New Jersey, about this study. Aziz commented that he thought this was a very interesting study involving a new variable to consider when working with patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's dementia, especially as it may predict who is likely to decline faster.'Accurate progression prediction is crucial for multiple reasons,' he explained. 'It empowers families to make informed decisions about care planning, financial arrangements, and how to prioritize quality time together. Clinically, it helps us identify patients who need more intensive monitoring and earlier intervention.''With new disease-modifying treatments like aducanumab and lecanemab becoming available — treatments that carry real risks including brain swelling and bleeding — we urgently need better ways to identify which patients are most likely to benefit from aggressive treatment versus those who might have slower progression,' Aziz continued.'This metabolic marker could help us personalize the risk-benefit calculation for each patient, ensuring we're offering these powerful but potentially risky therapies to those who need them most while protecting slower-progressing patients from unnecessary exposure.'— Rehan Aziz, MDAziz said he'd like to see this study's results validated in larger populations. 'We also need longer follow-up studies to see if this predictive power holds over five to 10 years,' he continued. 'I'm particularly interested in whether interventions targeting insulin resistance — like lifestyle modifications or medications like metformin — could actually slow progression in high-TyG patients. Finally, I'd like to see this integrated with other biomarkers to create a more comprehensive risk stratification tool.' More information on how Alzheimer's progressesMNT also spoke with Peter Gliebus, MD, director of cognitive and behavioral neurology at Marcus Neuroscience Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida, about this commented that he found the study both fascinating and highly applicable to daily clinical practice. 'As clinicians, we frequently encounter questions from patients and their families, such as, 'How quickly will it worsen?'— and we often don't have a definitive answer,' he explained. 'The prospect that a simple, cost-effective marker like the TyG index could predict progression in Alzheimer's disease is extremely encouraging. It has the potential to bridge an important gap between diagnosis and practical prognosis, which has been a missing element in this field,' he said.'Early-stage Alzheimer's, especially during the mild cognitive impairment stage, exhibits significant variability-some individuals remain stable for years, while others decline rapidly. Identifying those at higher risk of swift decline enables us to customize clinical care and research strategies. It also helps families set clearer expectations and facilitates early, potentially more effective interventions, whether through lifestyle changes, medications or future planning.' — Peter Gliebus, MD'As new treatments are developed, timing and patient stratification will be essential — tools like the TyG index may play a crucial role in that process,' he added.
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Putting cancer warnings on alcohol would help me drink less
Back in the early noughties, the indoor smoking ban led to an outcry over 'the nanny state'. The same happened when cigarette advertising was banned, and when manufacturers were required to plaster packs with images of diseased lungs. Yet over the past 40 years, according to Cancer Research, lung cancer rates in men have dropped by around 60 per cent. We may think we crave the rugged freedoms of the Marlboro Man, but given the facts, it turns out we don't actually want to die. And yet when it comes to alcohol, one of the world's biggest killers, a key driver of cancers, heart disease, strokes and obesity, there are no images of rotting livers on the chilled Sauvignon. The presentation of booze in the supermarket aisles is as benign as kitchen roll and chicken pie. It's described on restaurant menus with biblical reverence, it's advertised on TV in a hazy, golden-hour glow, and every other greetings card carries a hilarious reference to the booze-addled nature of the recipient. It is both normalised and celebrated, despite being the fifth greatest risk factor for death in the UK. Now, a group of major medical and health organisations have signed a letter to the Prime Minister calling for alcohol to carry explicit warnings that its consumption can cause cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund, which spearheaded the letter, cited 'shockingly low' public awareness that alcohol raises the risk of seven types of cancer – these being breast, bowel, stomach, head, neck, liver and mouth – and insisted that 'bold and unambiguous labelling' is urgently need to help save lives. Token efforts have long been made by the industry to toe a wavering line of responsibility – the number of units a bottle of wine contains written in a font the size of a gnat's IKEA instructions, or a glancing mention that pregnant women shouldn't drink. According to the Advertising Standards Authority, 'Lively, but responsible, social interaction or party scenes with alcohol present are allowed but…no behaviour may be adolescent or childish.' If only that diktat held true in real-life 'party scenes.' Initially, like much of Gen X and our wine-necking Boomer parents, I was resistant to the idea of cancer warnings. If I wanted to slowly kill myself in a responsible and socially acceptable manner, I felt it should be my choice to do so. But after another night of drinking slightly too much with friends, waking bathed in shame and a light prosecco sweat, I reconsidered. Women, particularly, are at risk of harm from alcohol, simply because we're smaller. If every time I picked up the wine bottle to top up my glass – over a healthy dinner! So civilised! – it reminded me that I was increasing my risk of cancer, I suspect I might put it back down. Humans like to ignore the dangers when it's something we want to do until it becomes impossible to turn a blind eye. But this time, it's not so much the consumers resisting warnings as the enormously powerful drinks industry. It's already up against Gen Z's wellbeing crusade, with a tsunami of kumbucha and kefir washing away the old-school shots and spirits from nights out. The risk of drinkers murmuring, 'Actually, I don't think I do want seven types of cancer' and switching the kettle on instead is a step too far. A spokesperson for the Portman Group, which oversees UK alcohol labelling in the UK, says: 'Whilst we do not dispute the link between alcohol and certain cancers… blanket cancer warning labels…can create unnecessary anxiety, eroding trust in health advice and alienating the very people who require support.' As an argument, this is weaker than a sixth-form debating point scribbled on the bus. Imagine the motor industry saying, 'Road signs create unnecessary anxiety. Let's not warn people that they might crash, lest we alienate drivers.' The spokesperson added that most alcohol products already include advice to limit drinking to 14 units a week, and claimed that 'most people drink within guidelines.' According to NHS Digital, however, 24 per cent of Brits drink more than this, while the charity Drinkaware has found that 32 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women regularly sink more than the recommended limit – and it is a limit, not a target. Doctors repeatedly warn that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption, and in April, the World Health Organisation advised that women should drink no alcohol at all to avoid a heightened risk of breast cancer. I'm aware that even reading this is annoying. I share the general British resentment over finger-wagging admonishments from the Fun Police. I want to say, 'You'll prise my Picpoul from my cold, dead hand.' The only thing is, I'd rather not be cold and dead – and I'm increasingly convinced that warning labels can only be a good thing. Although, of course, we must be careful how we approach this new regime. After all, we wouldn't want to alienate anybody.
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Update on Guildford paddling pool plagued by problems
The public paddling pool in Guildford's Stoke Park is no stranger to opened a month late last year because of staff sickness and in 2022 was forced to shut just days after a £141,000 refurbishment because parents said its floor was too slippery for the pool is once again more than a month late to open as engineers try to balance the chlorine levels, and are yet to determine what is causing the asked how much the ongoing work is costing the taxpayer, the leader of Guildford Borough Council was unable to answer. So what exactly is going on at Stoke Park and what needs to happen for the pool to reopen? Respiratory problems Council leader Julia McShane told BBC Radio Surrey that the current high levels of chlorine in the water could be a public health said it would particularly affect vulnerable people and might lead to skin or eye irritation as well as stomach and breathing problems."We don't want to be causing people those issues to their health," she said. "I can reassure people that the teams are working incredibly hard with experts to try to find out what the problem is and to resolve this as quickly as possible so we can get this pool open again."But with temperatures in Guildford set to hit 32C on Monday, many families have been left feeling frustrated."It doesn't seem like they can get it right on anything really, it's a real shame that it's like that again, we had a lovely summer here last year once it was sorted," one parent told us: "We're all sad because we used it last year and it was lovely, a lot of people enjoyed being there, but unfortunately it's not open." What happens now? Ms McShane said it would not be fair to give a reopening date to the public as a timeframe for repairs is not yet clear, but she did say work would continue from next week."The team are going to empty the pool again, flush it through, fill it back up again, probably try a different chemical treatment and then test it again," she said."When we're absolutely certain that the pool is safe to use, then we'll reopen."And how much is this all costing?Ms McShane was unable to give a figure and the council did not provide us with one either when we followed it for now, families will just have to keep their fingers crossed and hope the sun is still around when the pool eventually reopens.
