How young?

Hi testing,

I believe that early onset Alzheimer's is a diagnosis prior to the 65th birthday.  Other than that, I've not read anything about exactly how young a person can be to be diagnosed.

One thing I want to mention is that symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer's are often easily grouped together by a lot of people.  And there are maaaaaaaaaaaany causes of dementia - many of which are temporary.  So I guess my advice is to have the person you're concerned about evaluated by a doctor. 

Missy is right. There are lots of possible causes of memory loss/dementia, so it's a good idea to get to a doctor for a complete diagnosis. I've heard of early-onset Alzheimer's happening in people as young as early '40s. But symptoms of Alzheimer's can also be confused with a lot of other health problems.  There's lots about all of this here: http://www.caring.com/diagnosing-alzheimer-s-and-other-dementias

Good luck, and let us know what you find out. I know this kind of thing can be quite scary.