Memory Impairment

Memory Loss has long been recognized as a common accompaniment of aging. The inability to recall the name of a recent acquaintance or the contents of a short shopping list are familiar experiences for everyone, and this experience seems to become more common with age.

Recently, physicians have shifted their view of memory loss from an inevitable part of aging to a view that memory impairment of a certain degree is now considered pathological, and thus indicative of some kind of disease process affecting the brain. The threshold most physicians
use to make this judgment is that if memory loss has progressed to such an extent that normal independent function is impossible this degree of cognitive impairment is called dementia. Dementia has many potential causes, the most common of which is probably Alzheimer's Disease.

Difficulty with memory:

• Trouble remembering names of people met recently
  
  

• Trouble remembering the flow of conversation
  
  

• Increased tendency to misspell things
  
  

• In most cases the patient will be quite aware of these difficulties and will compensate with increased reliance on notes and calendars.

Currently there is no specific treatment for mild cognitive impairment although studies indicate the usefulness of medications such as cholinesterase inhibitors and vitamin E in slowing the deterioration in patients. A medical evaluation and assessment by a physician should be the general recommendation for individuals with this concern.

http://www.memory.ucsf.edu

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