noun
condition where a patient suffers from presenile dementia in middle age, caused when areas of the brain atrophy, making the ventricles expand
COMMENT: no cause has been identified for the disease, although it is more prevalent in certain families than in others. It appears to be linked to a mutant gene on chromosome 21 (which is itself linked to Down's syndrome). It is thought that there may be a connection between Alzheimer's disease and absorption by the body of aluminium