Picks Disease

Picks Disease






Pick’s disease is a type of Dementia (loss of memory) in which the brain cells reduce their capacity to think. The affected person will show change in behavior and personality and subsequently it would affect their speech. Not all the people having dementia will have the symptoms of Pick’s disease and only less percentage (5 in 100) will have this problem. The symptoms of this rare disease are often misunderstood for Depression or any other type of Mental Illness. There is no cure for the disorder but the patient can be taught and trained to live with this disease. This disease involves the reduced functioning of Frontal Lobes of the brain that controls speech. For this reason this disease is also called as frontotemproal dementia.

Causes :

The cells in the frontal lobes lose function gradually due to the accumulation of protein molecules in the brain. This piling up of brain cells gradually changes the behavior and personality of the person. He would subsequently become poor in taking decisions and this may seriously affect his intelligence as well.

This disease is found rarely in people of age group 45-60 and women are more affected than men.Exact cause of Pick’s disease is not fully known.

Symptoms :

It begins as loss of memory and slowly change in behavior is observed. There will be a positive decline in making decisions and the person will lose control even in doing basic tasks. The symptoms will increase as age progresses and there will be complete withdrawal from daily activities in the long run.

The affected person will show signs of depression. He cannot make right judgment and becomes highly restless. He may either avoid eating and drinking or over-eat. Lot of changes is seen in his behavior. He will not show any interest in maintaining personal hygiene and sometimes he may exhibit himself sexually.

Gradually he will lose interest in carrying out daily routine and takes leave from his work or office.

He may become suddenly rude and again warm and empathetic. Lot of mood swings is seen during this period. His concentration becomes low and he may get easily distracted by other’s action or speech.

The worst part of the disease is loss of speech and initially the person will have problem in speaking and understanding. He may struggle for finding the apt word and shortly he would start repeating the same words. Finally there would be complete loss of speech.

In the advanced stages of disease, the person may show difficulty in moving his muscles and joints and may show muscle rigidity. His body becomes easily tired.

Diagnoses :

The doctor will look for the above signs and collect information from the patient as well as his close relatives. He may do EEG or brain scan and even MRI scan of the brain to ascertain the disease. The symptoms are very similar to Alzheimer’s disease and hence diagnosing the disease rightly becomes crucial for the doctor. Loss of memory and mental dysfunction occurs in later stages in Pick’s disease.

Treatment :

No cure is available for Pick’s disease but the patient can be given emotional support and taught to cope up with the disease.

Certain symptoms of the disease can be repaired and completely cured. For instance loss of hearing or vision can be corrected by prescribing proper hearing aid or eyeglasses for the person.

For modifying the behavior it takes time for the counselor to bring changes using rewards or punishment method. For improving speech or writing, the person will be trained by professional speech therapist.

Medications of antidepressant type are prescribed for getting temporary relief from the depressed state of mind and to control certain behavior. Analgesics and central nervous system depressants are given after analyzing the case history of the patient.

The task lies in finding the other skills of the person and motivating them to improve it.

There may be other physical disorders associated with this disease like liver or Kidney Failure, thyroid problem, infection and nutritional disorders. Hence the doctor will have to carefully examine the patient’s health and suggest suitable remedial drugs for treatment.

Pick’s Disease – Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Life Expectancy

Pick’s Disease – Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Life Expectancy

What is Pick’s Disease?

Pick’s disease is another rare condition which is a form of Dementia. Sometimes this is associated with frontotemporal dementia, meaning there is involvement of the frontal and anterial lobes of the brain. This is primarily caused by the shrinking of the brain cells, making protein buildup as the culprit for this disease. Sometimes this condition is confused with Alzheimer’s disease, but we can clinically determine the difference between the two. Since the condition is involved with memory loss, there are times we are confused with the two conditions. But a difference in symptoms can make these two distinct from each other.

This condition has distinguishing features to readily diagnose it. The onset is before the age of 65. There are personality changes right before memory loss is presented. Loss of normal controls and inhibition is observed such as food intake, sexual satisfaction and attention.

Pick’s Disease Symptoms

As this condition is usually confused with Alzheimer’s disease, the very distinction is the first onset of personality changes with Pick’s disease. Misconception is common among those who do not know the condition. Those affected with this disease is usually inappropriate in their behaviors. They tend to behave the wrong way in social settings. These behavioral changes tend to worsen and are considered the most troubling symptom of the disease. Decision making skills are altered thus making them incompetent in doing complex tasks and in understanding written or oral language.

The following below are the general symptoms of Pick’s disease:

Behavioral changes

• Impulsivity and poor judgment


• Extreme restlessness


• Inattention/problems to maintain good hygiene


• Overeating or excessive drinking


• Sexual promiscuity


• Decreased interest in activities of daily living


• Repetitive/ obsessive behavior


• Inappropriate behavior


• Lack in interest to keep job


• Inability to interact in social situations/ withdrawal to social interactions

Emotional changes

• Sudden mood changes


• Lack of empathy


• Apathetic


• Rude, impatient and aggressive


• Poor attention span


• Failure to recognize changes in behavior


• Lack of care about events and environment

Language/speech changes

• Mutism (ability to speak is not attained)


• Loss of vocabulary or finding the right or appropriate word


• Difficulty speaking or understanding speech (Aphasia)


• Repeating words others say (echolalia)


• Week speech sounds


• Unable to read or write


• Complete loss of speech

Neurological changes

• Memory loss


• Movement and coordination difficulties

Physical changes

• Muscle rigidity


• Difficulty moving


• Weakness


• Urinary Incontinence

In order for the doctor to diagnose a client to have Pick’s disease, symptom evaluation is needed along with brain scans. With the presenting symptoms, we can back it up with the scans results making a clear differential diagnosis. This can also make us put aside other possible diagnoses from the different forms of dementia.

Medical assessments such as brain MRI, electroencephalogram, neurologic exams, cerebrospinal fluid exam, head CT scan and tests of sensation, thinking and reasoning and motor function are just some of the procedures/tests done to patient’s suspected of this type of dementia. A brain biopsy is the only confirmatory test of the diagnosis.

Pick’s Disease Causes

Like most conditions, the exact cause of this condition is said to be unknown. But as this condition is confirmed through a brain biopsy, it has been found out that there have been abnormal substances inside the nerve cells in the brain. These substances are called Pick bodies and Pick cells. These were thought to contain an abnormal form of protein tau. According to studies, this protein is found in all nerve cells but some sufferers of Pick’s disease have abnormal amount of this protein in their nerve cells.
The exact mechanism of this protein is not yet known to the medical world. Though there are also different genes found to may have caused this condition. Thus making this a hereditary form of disorder. As a rare disease, it can also occur to the young population. But the usual affected people are those aging forty to sixty years old, giving us an average of 54 years.

You're reading Pick’s Disease – Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Life Expectancy posted by minhhai2d, the information is for reference only.

Pick’s Disease Treatment

Since the symptoms of this condition can be readily identified, as a medical practitioner we need to find ways in order to resolve them. Symptomatic interventions are preferable for this case. Controlling of the symptoms is a must so not to make the condition at its worst case.

Family members should be well educated with this condition. They need to comprehend the situation that the patient is in so to guide the affected. Providing assistance in patient’s need is a must in the beginning. We need to make sure that the client is safe and is away from harm. Since the patient is impulsive in any way, controlling and behavior modification is tantamount to helping them. Giving out reward systems from positive behaviors can help the client reinforce the appropriate behavior when the manifestations set in. providing the client speech therapy can improve their communication skills. We have to clearly remember that the patient have no complete control to his/her actions. Understanding that the patient’s behavior is from the condition is a must for family members and medical health workers.

Along with all the medical assistance to the patient, we need also provide medications to ease up the presenting symptoms. Antidepressant such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors is given to patients to provide relief from apathy and Depression, impulsiveness and compulsive & obsessive behaviors.

One important medical intervention to the client is setting out reality or reality orientation. Patients with Pick’s disease can make a person confused with the difference between real and not real. This can help patient in reducing their disorientation.

In the beginning, we need to help patient doing self-care activities. It is important that we do not do it for them; instead we just need to assist them in completing their tasks and hopefully letting them gradually do it with supervision.

Pick’s Disease Life Expectancy

This is a progressive disease, making the patient totally incapable and disabled. Assistance is quite necessary for to make things better for the patient. When a patient is diagnosed with this condition, his/her life expectancy is reduced to 2 to 10 years. This is because of the general failure of the body systems.