🧠 Childhood Dementia: when dementia strikes children

🌟 A surprising name

When we hear the word dementia, we immediately think of the elderly and diseases like Alzheimer’s. Yet, there is a form that affects children: childhood dementia. It is not a single illness, but an umbrella term covering over 100 rare genetic diseases that gradually cause children to lose previously acquired skills, such as speaking, walking, or remembering.

🧬 The hidden causes

At the root of childhood dementia there are almost always genetic mutations. These defects prevent brain cells from functioning properly:

• toxic substances accumulate,

• key enzymes are missing,

• the brain slowly stops working as it should.

Among the most well-known conditions are Batten disease, Sanfilippo syndrome, and Niemann-Pick disease type C.

⏳ A painful regression

Childhood dementia is often described as a “reverse journey”:

• a child who once spoke begins to forget words,

• someone who used to run can no longer do it,

• seizures, memory problems, and motor difficulties appear.

It is as if time itself is being rewritten backwards.

🏥 Treatments and research

Sadly, there is no definitive cure today. Treatments are mostly supportive: anti-seizure medications, physiotherapy, nutritional support, and mobility aids.
However, research is progressing: gene therapies and enzyme replacement therapies are opening new hopes for some forms of childhood dementia.

💔 A future to rewrite

Childhood dementia drastically reduces life expectancy. Some children do not survive past adolescence, while others live longer but with severe disabilities. For families, it is a difficult journey, filled with courage, love, and the struggle to access care and support.

🌍 Why raising awareness matters

Childhood dementia is rare and little-known, and therefore often invisible. Talking about it means:

• giving families a voice,

• supporting research,

• spreading awareness.

Every story, every share, brings us closer to a future where the word cure will no longer be just a distant dream.