Birds Of A Feather star Pauline Quirke is to ‘step back’ from all professional duties due to struggles with the memory-robbing disease dementia, which she was diagnosed with in 2021.
The actor, now 65, plans to spend time with her family, children and grandchildren during this ‘difficult period’, her husband Steve Sheen said in a statement.
A diagnosis of the disease under the age of 65 is considered young-onset dementia, which is caused by genetics in around one in 10 cases, according to Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Experts say that the initial brain changes caused by the disease occur decades before symptoms strike.
However, there are some red flag signs that may happen far earlier than others — and should be looked out for, particularly in those with a family history.
According to Dr Daniel Amen, a psychiatrist and brain disorder specialist based in California, one telltale sign is a significantly shortened attention span.
He says of this characteristic in a recent TikTok video: ‘[It is] not like ADHD, that you’ve had it your whole life, but it seems to be accelerating.’
Touching on why this happens Ruth Drew, the director of client and information services for the Alzheimer’s Association in the US, explains: ‘Alzheimer’s disease attacks the brain, and it tends to start in hippocampus where new memory and new learning are stored.
Hilary Evans-Newton, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said in a statement on Tuesday: ‘We are saddened to hear of Pauline’s diagnosis and send our best wishes to her’
‘So anything that disrupts that could certainly make it more difficult for a person to hold on to a train of thought.
‘It is different for each person. Certainly by the middle stages [of the disease], focus is definitely going to be impacted.’
Another easily missed sign is what appears to be depression, Dr Amen says.
Watch out for ‘low mood’, he warns.
‘Depression doubles the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in women and quadrouples the risk in men.’
The Alzheimer’s Society says it is hard to know what causes depression in dementia.
It adds: ‘For many people, the challenges of living with dementia can lead to feelings of deep sadness or hopelessness.
‘In addition, the diseases that cause dementia may damage parts of the brain involved in emotions and behavior.’
The actress, best known for her role in the ITV sitcom Birds Of A Feather, was first diagnosed with the disease in 2021
Her last public appearance came back in February 2023 when she was awarded an MBE by Prince William, for services to young people, entertainment and charity
Another more obvious sign that dementia may have struck is a noticeable decline in your ability to remember things.
He explains: ‘Eighty per cent of people who say their memory is worse than it was 10 years ago have an 80 percent chance it will continue to get worse.’
The National Institute of Aging says memory problems associated with the early stages of Alzheimer’s include ‘a decline in non-memory aspects of cognition, such as finding the right word, trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships, and impaired reasoning or judgment.’
It adds: ‘As the disease progresses, symptoms become more severe and include increased confusion and behavior changes.’
Dr Amen’s next early alarm bell is ‘poor judgement and impulsivity’. For instance, this could include making poor financial decisions or engaging in unnecessary arguments.
This is because the frontal lobes — the largest lobes of the brain located directly behind the forehead respsonbile for behavior and emotions — are ‘decreasing in activity’ due to the disease, which is ‘sort of like your brain going offline’, according to Dr Amen.
Only around 1 in 50 people with Alzheimer’s disease find their frontal lobes are affected early on.
After detailing the main warning signs, Dr Amen ran through some factors that can increase the likelihood of your developing the disease.
‘Being overweight or obese [increases the risk]. As your weight goes up, the size and function of your brain goes down,’ he said.
‘That’s why I’m trim. I do not want to purposely do anything that damages my brain.’
He also points out a few more conditions that could lead to poor brain health, including erectile dysfunction – ‘because if you have blood flow problems anywhere, it means they’re everywhere’ – chronic insomnia, and sleep apnoea.
Memory problems, thinking and reasoning difficulties and language problems are common early symptoms of the condition, which then worsen over time.
A separate Alzheimer’s Research UK analysis found 74,261 people died from dementia in 2022 compared with 69,178 a year earlier, making it the country’s biggest killer.
In 2022, Marvel actor Chris Hemsworth, 40, found out he was likely to develop the disease, after going through genetic testing.
He’s become a public figure in the fight against dementia.
He openly shares details about his health and wellness routines, and encourages others to attend regular doctors visits.
