Early Onset Alzheimer's Relatively Uncommon

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - There are many people who think that they have Alzheimers because they can't remember a name or where they last left the keys, but occasional memory issues like this are not that uncommon. It is more common that someone with Alzheimer's may ask the same question many times or forget words in the middle of a sentence.

People with Alzheimer's may also have trouble doing familiar tasks, such as paying bills or following a recipe.

While it's true most people with Alzheimer's are age 65 or older, some people get this disease at a younger age. It can occur anytime from age 30 to 60. When this happens, it's called early-onset Alzheimer's. It's not very common - only about 5% of all people with Alzheimer's have this form of the illness.