Pat Summitt's Death After Battle With Dementia Hits Close To Home

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Legendary women's basketball coach Pat Summitt died Tuesday morning from complications of early onset dementia.

WJZ's Amy Yensi reports that the passing of the 64-year-old sports pioneer is putting the spotlight on a disease that impacts hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S.

Summitt led the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team to eight national titles, and pushed women's basketball onto the national stage.

During her groundbreaking career, she racked up more victories than any other Division I coach in history.

She had been fighting a very public battle against her fiercest rival -- early onset Alzheimer's -- for years.

Five percent of all people diagnosed with Alzheimer's are under 65 years old. That's about 200,000 people nationwide.

In other words, it's a disease that's much more rare for younger men and women.

Dr. Arash Taavoni, a neurologist at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, says the early onset gene runs in families.

At least six genes cause it, or at least predispose individuals to it.

Memory loss was the first clue for Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker that something was wrong with his wife. She was diagnosed at just 48.

"[The doctor] asked how old our kids are, and she couldn't tell him how old they were," he told WJZ. "It was probably the hardest moment of my life."

Doctors say smoking and lack of exercise can increase your chances of getting the disease.

For more information on the symptoms and treatment of Alzheimer's, CLICK HERE.

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