About Pick's Disease

Pick’s Disease can be defined as: “A progressive dementia commencing in middle life (usually between 50 and 60 years) characterised by slowly progressing changes in character and social deterioration leading to impairment of intellect, memory and language”. Pick’s disease is thought to be due to a build up in the brain of an abnormal form of the protein tau..

The frontal lobes of the brain are where we plan and monitor performance and where we control our behavioural and emotional responses. Damage to the frontal lobes may cause a variety of symptoms that differ greatly from one individual to another. There are however a common “core” of symptoms and some or all of these may be present at different stages of the illness. The temporal lobes are responsible for our speech and comprehension of language. Damage to these areas of the brain may cause speech loss.

Like Huntington's Disease and Lewy Body Disease, Pick's Disease is the result of a build-up of protein in the affected areas of the brain. The accumulation of abnormal brain cells, known as Pick's bodies, eventually leads to changes in character, socially inappropriate behavior, and poor decision making, progressing to a severe impairment in intellect, memory and speech. Pick's Disease usually strikes adults between the ages of 40 and 60, and is slightly more common in women than in men. While the cause is still unknown, there is a strong genetic component: FTDs tend to run in families, and approximately 40% of Pick's Disease cases are believed to be hereditary.