But for Fraser, a 41-year-old father from Australia, that misconception was shattered in mid-2024 when he was officially diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer’s.

Also knowns as early-onset Alzheimer’s, the disease affects people younger than 65. Since it is less common, “health care providers generally don’t look for Alzheimer’s disease in younger people,” making “an accurate diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s” a “long and frustrating process,” according to the Alzheimer’s Association that adds the disease is “not a normal part of aging.”

While it is uncommon, the Mayo Clinic estimates that of every 100,000 adults between ages 30 and 64, about 110 have young-onset Alzheimer’s.

‘Pretty big memory flaws’

Fraser is among the very unfortunate few who have young-onset Alzheimer’s and for him, the symptoms didn’t suddenly appear – they had been creeping in slowly for two years before his diagnosis.

“It