In this five-part series on BBC Radio 4, neurologist Jules Montague and William Miller go into the homes of people with rare dementias, to discover that dementia is not what we think it is.
It’s a common misconception that dementia is a condition that only affects memory, but Alzheimer’s is only one form of dementia: there are many more. Because the symptoms of rare dementias can be so atypical, often in younger people, those with rare dementias wait twice as long for a diagnosis and a third are initially misdiagnosed.
The symptoms of these dementias go far beyond memory loss. William and Jules meet a man who hallucinates cats and rabbits in his living room, a novelist who is losing her words, a former teacher who cannot see what’s right in front of her, and a family struggling with a genetic legacy that has defined their past and could determine their future.
Dr Jules Montague is a dementia specialist, and William has personal experience of its impact, having cared for his father, theatre director Jonathan Miller, who died of Alzheimer’s in 2019. Together they explore the science behind the symptoms and the poignant and extraordinary ways in which families navigate their lives as a result of these conditions.
There are five episodes which can be heard starting on Monday 10th April here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001kww0/broadcasts/upcoming
