Page 91 - The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss and Enhance Memory Power

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he performed significantly better than he had when he first came to see me. We were both delighted
with the result, and Jack expressed his heartfelt gratitude to me. He was now confident that he wasn't
developing Alzheimer's disease or at risk for a stroke, but being a realist, he also knew that there was
no guarantee he would be shielded from these conditions for the rest of his life.

Jack's story shows that it is often difficult to determine the exact cause of memory loss, but that
persistence sometimes pays off. A few guidelines can help pigeonhole the symptom of mild memory
loss into one of the following broad categories:

1. Memory loss due to the aging process itself.
2. Potentially reversible memory loss caused by a specific abnormality (Jack Kaufman).
3. Dementia, where Alzheimer's disease is the most common type.

If You've Developed Mild Memory Loss

If you are in your forties to fifties, you are likely to have an identifiable, reversible cause of
memory loss.
If you are in your sixties to eighties, memory loss due to either the aging process or dementia is
much more common.
If there is a relatively rapid onset (weeks to months) of symptoms, a potentially reversible cause
of memory loss is more likely.
A fluctuating course of symptoms, with periods of clear memory and cognition intervening
between episodes of confusion or memory loss, is more likely to be due to an identifiable,
reversible cause.
A gradual dwindling in memory over many years, even decades, is characteristic of memory loss
due to the aging process. TEAMFLY
A steady decline with mild symptoms progressing to severe symptoms of memory loss within a
few years suggests Alzheimer's disease.

The Aging Process Worsens Reversible Causes of Memory Loss

Some people with chronic depression or low-level medication toxicity develop mild memory loss for
the first time in their sixties and seventies. Many of these people chug along for years with minimal
memory loss induced by a specific, reversible cause, like depression

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Team-Fly