Spring Arbor Living Blog

They're often called middle-aged pauses or senior moments. One of the country's leading memory experts says that by age 45 people start having memory lapses, but you can do something about it. "People have more control than they think when it comes to their brain health," Dr. Gary Small says.

He is the director of the UCLA Longevity Center and has written "The Alzheimer's Prevention Program," which includes a simple memory-improving technique called "Look Snap Connect."


In the following video Dr. Small gives some ideas on how to prevent or hold off Alzheimer's Disease.



Original article KSEE news

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Commonly used prescription and over-the-counter drugs can cause memory problems and other cognitive impairments in older adults. These are drugs that many older adults take on a regular basis for conditions ranging from urinary incontinence to depression, sleep problems, allergies, respiratory conditions, and acid reflux.
 
According to a study, a long list of drugs have been linked with causing cognitive difficulties, including problems with memory, concentration, and delirium. The authors arrived at this conclusion by reviewing 27 studies that had addressed this problem.

The drugs in question belong to a class called anticholinergics. These drugs are given to block the actions of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the nervous systems. Acetylcholine helps with learning, memory, and concentration, as well as the functioning of the heart, blood vessels, airways, and the organs involved in digestion and the urinary tract.

50% of older people take an anticholinergic drug daily. Many take a combination of both prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Anticholinergic effects include confusion, attention deficit, impaired concentration, memory problems, light-headedness, blurry vision, constipation, dry mouth, and loss of bladder control.

Older people are more likely to experience these effects because the body produces less acetylcholine with age. This means the acetylcholine produced has less impact, and the effect of anticholinergic drugs is greater.
Patients should consult their doctor if they are experiencing memory or cognitive problems and are taking any medications.

Antihistamines and sleep aids such as Allerest, PediaCare, Periactin; Benadryl, Sominex, Unisom, Phenergan, Tagamet, Pepcid, Zantac are just some of the drugs that cause memory problems.

It’s important for older adults especially to have current information on any medications they are taking.

Original article Exmaxhealth.com

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University of Tennessee women’s coach Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in college basketball history, announced this week that she is suffering from early onset dementia.

The first neurologist told her she had symptoms of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, a second one advised her to retire immediately. Summitt will continue to coach the Lady Vols, who she has led to eight National Collegiate Athletic Association titles in 36 years at Tennessee. She has been chosen NCAA coach of the year seven times.

Three months ago, Summitt, 59, the  University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach visited the Mayo Clinic seeking an explanation for a troubling series of memory lapses over the past year. A woman who was always highly organized had to ask repeatedly what time a team meeting was scheduled for. “She lost her keys three times a day instead of once,” her son Tyler says. She was late to practice.

“Are you having trouble with your memory?” friends began asking, puzzled.

“Sometimes I draw blanks,” she finally admitted.

Her first clue that something was badly wrong came last season, when she drew a blank on what offensive set to call in the heat of a game.

Summitt believed her symptoms were the side effects of a powerful medication she was taking for rheumatoid arthritis. Instead, when she received her test results at the end of May, they confirmed a shocking worst-case scenario: She showed “mild” but distinct signs of “early-onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type,” the irreversible brain disease that destroys recall and cognitive abilities over time, and that afflicts an estimated 5 million Americans.

Denial was followed by anger. Finally, Summitt realized she would have to accept the diagnosis. “I can’t change it,” she says. After a pause, she adds, “But I can try to do something about it.”

Summitt has a 1,071-199 record at Tennessee, more victories in men’s or women’s college basketball than any other coach.

Original articles - Washington Post, Bloomberg

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