With the passage of time, we may notice ourselves, or our close family, getting more forgetful. This can manifest itself in many ways in everyday life, e.g.
- I keep losing my glasses.
- I saw someone I knew and couldn’t remember their name.
- I forgot an appointment.
- I can’t find the right word when I speak.
- I can’t follow a TV show or a conversation.
But how can we distinguish normal forgetfulness due to age or stress from pathological memory loss, or more accurately, “a memory disorder,” and how is it related to other disorders of cognitive function in areas of attention, information organization, critical thinking, and speech?
Neurodegenerative diseases of the brain, for example, Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and various types of encephalopathy, are associated in most cases with memory disorders as well as impairment of other cognitive functions.
When minor memory difficulties are harbingers of neurodegenerative diseases, they are often accompanied by changes in behavior or personality. Characteristically, the sufferer may be anxious, distrustful, or paranoid; display inappropriate emotions and social behavior, hoard things, or engage in other new, unusual behaviors.
At ANAPLASI, we have a dedicated Memory Clinic.
Every patient with a suspected memory disorder undergoes a detailed neuropsychological evaluation, where the most subtle memory difficulties are detected during the early stages of the central nervous system disease, and real memory disorders can be discriminated from simple forgetfulness.
If a memory disorder is suspected, in addition to the patient undergoing neurological assessment, any relevant imaging or laboratory tests will be evaluated.
According to their diagnosis and in conjunction with any other therapy, the patient can follow a specialized rehabilitation program.
This program includes:
- Neurocognitive therapy and psychological support
- Gentle aerobic exercise to maintain good physical condition
- Dietary advice for eating a balanced diet.
At ANAPLASI, we believe that monitoring higher mental functions with early intervention is crucial in improving the patient’s quality of life.
