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CHAPTER 9
Alcohol and Drugs
WITH AGING, ALCOHOL ABUSE continues to be common while other drug abuse declines. Yet because
alcohol is considered socially acceptable, many people do not recognize its role in causing memory
loss.
Early Signs of Alcoholism
Do you drink every day?
Has anyone ever told you that you drink too much?
Do you tell family or friends that you drink less than you really do?
Do you have gaps in recent memory, especially after drinking heavily?
If your answer to any of these questions is yes, and you suffer from memory loss, then alcohol
becomes the prime suspect. During the aging process, the brain becomes much more sensitive to the
effects of alcohol, as one of my patients illustrates.
“I've Always Had a Few Drinks at Night”: Mary's Story
Mary O'Brien, a sturdy, jovial, sixty-four-year-old woman, complained of a gradually worsening
memory over a three-year period. She lived with her husband and was close to her four grown
children and nine grandchildren. I completed an extensive neurological, psychiatric, and
neuropsychological evaluation that showed moderately severe
