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Rare Dementia Support

Overview

LATE:  Limbic Predominant Age-Related TDP-43 Encephalopathy - Summary

People with limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE):

  • Don’t accumulate tau or beta amyloid
  • Do have an accumulation of a misfolded protein TDP 43
  • Misfolded TDP 43 is very common in older adults and is also implicated in other rarer conditions (such as ALS and some FTDs)
  • Onset of LATE tends to be slower, and at a later age than other types of dementia
  • LATE tends to affect the amygdala and hippocampus in the early stages
  • LATE generally presents similarly to AD (predominantly as memory loss) and is therefore likely an under recognised condition
  • LATE does not respond to AD therapies
  • However, 30% of people with LATE have amyloid too, so unless there is evidence that the individual is amyloid negative, a trial of cholinesterase inhibitors is worth considering
  • In terms of rate of progression there is no evidence to suggest people with LATE progress at a different rate to people with AD
  • However, LATE combined with Alzheimer's appears to cause a more rapid decline than either would alone.

Journal articles and reports