Pick disease is a rare form of dementia that is similar to
Alzheimer disease , except that it tends to affect only certain
areas of the brain. Semantic dementia; Dementia - semantic;
Frontotemporal dementia; Arnold Pick disease Causes, incidence,
and risk factors People with Pick disease have abnormal
substances (called Pick bodies and Pick cells) inside nerve
cells in the damaged areas of the brain. Pick bodies and Pick
cells contain an abnormal form of a protein called tau. This
protein is found in all nerve cells. But some people with Pick
disease have an abnormal amount or type of this protein. The
exact cause of the abnormal form of the protein is unknown. Many
different abnormal genes have been found that can cause Pick
disease. Some cases of Pick disease are passed down in families.
Pick disease is rare. It can occur in people as young as 20. But
it usually begins between ages 40 and 60. The average age at
which it begins is 54. The disease gets worse slowly. Tissues in
the temporal and frontal lobes o