Gemma's problems worsened with time, slowly making her unable to see or process anything
A 31-year-old woman died from a rare form of dementia, and she could not understand the telltale signs to think that she had such a horrendous disease, according to her brother. Gemma Illingworth, from Manchester, was 28 when she was diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy - a rare form of dementia.
PCA is a rare, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that makes you lose neurons or brain cells in the part of your brain that manages what you see. According to doctors, as the disease gets worse, you may develop other symptoms, including memory loss.
Gemma lost her ability to see and physically function independently. Gemma’s brother, Ben, described her as “ditsy” since childhood, struggling with simple tasks like her sight, coordination, sense of direction, and ability to tell the time, but said these characteristics did not raise concerns about her health.
However, her problems only worsened with time, slowly making her unable to see or process her screen at home, prompting her to stop working. She completed a series of neurological tests, which led to her dementia diagnosis. Eventually, she even lost her ability to function independently, including having trouble feeding herself, swallowing, speaking, and walking.
“She didn’t fully understand what was going on, and she thought that she could live a normal life, but she couldn’t… Before we knew it, she couldn’t live unassisted,” Ben told The Sun. “Once she had the diagnosis, it was really only going to go one way. We didn’t know it was going to be that quick,” he added.
What is posterior cortical atrophy?
Posterior cortical atrophy is a rare, progressive neurodegenerative disorder leading to conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and Lewy body dementia. Like those diseases, there is no cure for posterior cortical atrophy. Doctors usually treat it by determining the underlying cause so they can recommend medication and other treatments that can help reduce and manage your symptoms.
Signs and symptoms of Posterior cortical atrophy
According to experts, the early signs of posterior cortical atrophy typically start when you are in your 50s and 60s; however, it can also begin earlier, in your 30s. The condition affects the posterior cerebral cortex, which includes your right and left parietal and occipital lobes. If you have this condition, you would lose brain cells in your posterior cerebral cortex so that it shrinks, making it hard for you to:
- Read any text as you would, and you keep losing your place on the page because lines of text seem to move around on the page.
- Judge distances, like the space between steps on a flight of stairs or between your car tires and the curb.
- Follow directions because you would not be able to tell your right from your left.
- Recognise faces, objects, or places.
- Bump into doorways, furniture, or other objects because you don’t appropriately judge where they are kept.
- Deal with numbers
- Use tools and appliances
- Anxiety
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