Page 213 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

Regain an Agile Brain • 197

often we remember those important facts, dates, and er-
rands? Instead, we amplify the times we are incorrect or
cannot immediately recall a desired piece of information.
Every time we forget something, it does not mean that
we are entering the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. Many
of us joke about Alzheimer’s or senility when we cannot re-
member something or cannot find the word we are trying to
say. But these jokes hide our fears that we will be one of
those members of the population who truly do suffer from
senility and Alzheimer’s. There are many other reasons we
may be forgetful. Increased stress can keep our minds occu-
pied. Vitamin deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, simple
disuse of brain cells, and other factors must be eliminated as
legitimate causes of forgetfulness and memory impairment.
After all other possible causes of memory reduction have
been eliminated, then we need to consider Alzheimer’s dis-
ease as a possibility. Many studies also indicate that mental
“fuzziness” resulting from lack of sleep, poor nutrition, lack
of exercise, or simple disuse of those neuronal connections
can be misinterpreted as the beginnings of Alzheimer’s dis-
ease. Don’t live in fear that the doctor may tell you some-
thing you don’t want to hear. Your doctor may tell you that
you suffer from a simple vitamin deficiency and that
changes to your diet will take care of the problem.
One other possibility for memory impairment in wo-
men is a lack of estrogen. Women in their thirties who had
certain diseases and were receiving estrogen-suppressing
drugs exhibit verbal, but not visual or spatial, memory loss
and reduced levels of concentration. Men also have estro-
gen receptors in their brains. Researchers are beginning to
examine the possibility that estrogen therapy may improve
memory function in men as well. You need to weigh the
risks against the benefits. Estrogen replacement therapy
(ERT), although proven to be effective in reducing the
symptoms of senility and Alzheimer’s disease in women,
is not for everyone. Although ERT helps control osteo-
porosis, improves memory, improves coordination, and
protects against Alzheimer’s, it also is thought to increase