HEALTH TOPICS 
Of all the health issues that loom large with age, memory loss is among those that provoke the most worry. A big reason is the uncertainty: people often wonder if their occasional memory slips are just a normal part of growing old or a sign of impending Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. A new study, published in today’s issue of the journal Neurology, sheds some light—and perhaps offers a bit of reassurance—about the connection between self-reported memory loss and a diagnosis of dementia.
The study included 531 people with an average age of 73 and no signs of dementia. They took memory and thinking tests every year for an average of 10 years. Researchers also asked participants if they noticed any changes in their memory over the past year. Slightly more than half reported memory changes, at an average age of 82.
About 1 in 6 developed dementia during the study, and 80% of those had previously reported memory changes. But it took about nine years from the first self-report of a memory change to a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, an intermediate stage between normal memory loss and dementia. The transition to dementia usually took about 12 years.
That relatively long time period means that if you notice troubling memory changes, there’s no cause for immediate alarm, as the study authors note (see “Memory loss warning signs: When should you worry?”). That period could offer a window for intervention, but we don’t yet have any proven therapies to prevent or stop Alzheimer’s disease or other memory-related illnesses.
Still, this study is a valuable addition to our understanding of Alzheimer’s progression, says neuropsychologist Rebecca Amariglio, PhD, an instructor in neurology at Harvard Medical School. “We’re never going to cure or delay Alzheimer’s if we don’t start to identify what goes on early in the disease. Early intervention is where things are headed,” says Amariglio, who studies early indicators of Alzheimer’s disease.
If you’re concerned about your memory, see a doctor and get a baseline assessment. It can be used as a comparison in the future. If you’re between 65 and 85 years of age and have normal memory and thinking skills, you might be eligible to enroll in large, nationwide study to test a new investigational treatment to slow memory loss cause by Alzheimer’s disease. You can learn more about the “A4” (Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s) study, led by Harvard Medical School professor of neurology Dr. Reisa Sperling, at http://a4study.org.
As parent grew older they suffer from various health condition like Dementia, Alzheimer’s, Orthopedic problems, Stroke, Parkinson and other. It becomes impractical to look after them all the time.
Well i feel that the role of BDNF brain derived neurotrophic factor while doing aerobic exercise should not be underestimated in delaying long term effects of dementia
I like what you guys are up too. Such intelligent work and reporting! Carry on the excellent works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it’ll improve the value of my website 🙂
Ron Kadarishko
Hello I am, Seetha.N a co-founder of Sattvika Nutrition LLC, is a board certified Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics (that is nutrition).
I liked reading most of the post on your website.
Know More about me on FitnSpicy
I sincerely believe that a HIGH QUALITY, PURE supplement
can help to prevent, or at least delay, the onset of
dementia.
The years are piling up on me, and the faithful use
of Phosphatidylcholine (PPC) has kept my brain as alert
as the brain of a person thirty years younger. I
take a product called PhosChol which is one hundred
per cent Pure Phosphatidylcholine, not to be confused
with Phosphatidylserine.
Hope this is helpful.
Thanks for such information.
I appreciate u if you can give some advices to help alleviating dementia,although we know it’s related to aging.
We know some medication may help in that, but we would to help our patients and giving them some hope that such natural phenomenon is normally develops in aging,so they can take some life style measures to minimize such phenomenon.
Thanks and best regards.
Thank you very much for publishing this kind of article. I like your article very much.
I feel this is not clearly explained, particularly for people who might be a little confused. Is the ’12 years to dementia’, 12 years after the nine years, or three years later? And did the ‘one in six’ mean one in six of the people who reported memory loss, or all the people in the study.
NZJen, this confusion itself is early sign of dementia. What is not clear here? Everybody can understand this.
In,
Are you an expert in the field? I’m pretty sure someone who is concerned about dementia doesn’t think this is funny. Unless, of course, you know NZjen and are just messin’ with her.
In
Not funny and not correct.