Tag Archives: memory loss

Spacial Memory Loss in Pregnant Women (I Told You So)

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Nearly two months ago I blogged about a study conducted in Australia that claimed “baby brain,” or the memory loss many pregnant women claim to experience, is all in our heads. I believe my response was, “They are nuts!” If you read my story about getting lost in my own town, you’d understand why. Well now there is another study that comes from the University of Bradford that links pregnancy hormones to spacial memory loss, (think, “where did I leave my keys?” or “how do I get home from here?”) This is almost as confusing as the contradictory research about … Continue reading →

Relationship between Patient and Caregiver Makes a Difference

A study from Utah State University took a look at the relationship between Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers — and how that relationship can impact the patient’s mental and physical decline. Since 1994, researchers from Utah State University have been following more than five thousand people in order to look at risk factors for dementia. All participants were age 65 or older at the start of the study. Out of the initial five thousand, close to two hundred developed dementia and were being cared for by a spouse or (adult) child. Researchers interviewed the caregivers about their relationship with the patient … Continue reading →

Retrace Your Steps

These days I find occasionally I set out to do something and then, by the time I get there, forget what it was I was planning to do. What do I do when this happens? I retrace my steps and go back to the place where I was when I thought of it. Often before I get there, I’ve remembered. It’s good advice for a marriage too to go back and to retrace our steps. This is especially important when things are not working as well as we’d like or are starting to be a bit rocky. Then it’s a … Continue reading →

Pre-Dementia is on the Rise

A study from the Mayo Clinic looked at a mild type of memory loss that may precede Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers looked at approximately sixteen hundred adults between the ages of seventy and eighty-nine living near the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. All of the study participants had normal mental and memory function when they joined the study; within a year, more than five percent had developed some impairment. Men in the study were twice as likely as women to develop memory impairment. However, women often live longer and therefore have more time to develop memory issues. Researchers called this … Continue reading →

Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug Tests Well

A new drug for Alzheimer’s disease called Rember is being praised by the National Institute on Aging. This drug is only in the earliest stages of testing, but is showing amazing results. The National Institute on Aging — one of the National Institutes of Health here in the United States — helped fund early research that led to the development of drugs like Rember. These drugs are designed to target tau proteins in the tangles that form in the brain of a person with Alzheimer’s disease. For decades, medical research on Alzheimer’s disease has focused on a different kind of … Continue reading →

Advanced Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is divided into stages in order to help people understand the progression of the disease. We’ve already looked at the earliest stages — from no cognitive impairment to the point where a diagnosis may occur. Now it’s time to look at the next stages of the disease. Stage 4 is what doctors may call “mild” or “early-stage” Alzheimer’s disease. Symptoms of moderate cognitive decline can include: Decreased knowledge of recent events. Impaired ability to perform challenging mental math — like counting backwards from 100 by sevens. Decreased ability to perform complex tasks, like planning a party or managing … Continue reading →

Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is divided into stages in order to help people understand how the disease might unfold in a loved one. However, not everyone experiences the same symptoms at the same rate! On average, a person with Alzheimer’s disease passes away within four to six years of diagnosis. Some people live on for as long as twenty more years after a diagnosis. In general, Alzheimer’s disease is divided into mild, moderate, and severe stages. Experts have developed a more detailed list, even including pre-Alzheimer’s mental states: Stage 1: No impairment. A person experiences no memory problems that are evident to … Continue reading →

The Imaginary Visitor

I did a little research on people with Alzheimer’s disease experiencing hallucinations because of my grandmother. She is progressing from mild into moderate Alzheimer’s disease and has been experiencing hallucinations from time to time. I remember her calling through the house, looking for her mother (who passed away in 1998). She told stories of a little white dog she saw running through our backyard (that no one else ever saw). Lately, the hallucinations have been becoming more frequent. Last week, she told my mother a story about a stranger coming to the door. According to my grandmother, the doorbell rang … Continue reading →

Watching a Loved One Lose Time

When I started writing for the Families.com Health Blog, I was living with my grandmother and acting as one of her primary caretakers. Among a laundry list of other health issues, my grandmother has Alzheimer’s disease. In the three years I lived with her, my grandmother’s disease seemed to progress quickly. She went from the occasional “senior moment” to more concerning behaviors like leaving the stove on, forgetting to take her medicine, and hiding her purse in strange places. My grandmother has entered a new stage of Alzheimer’s disease, one I call “losing time”. You might call it living in … Continue reading →

Things to Remember, Things to Forget

I often feel like my recall ability is sub-par. I tend to remember general feelings, rather than specific conversations. Some events stand out in my mind while others fade away. My brother is often amazing me by recalling the most random things from our childhood — down to details like what we were wearing and what we ate for dinner. Let’s face it: your brain is loaded down with a lot of information. The stuff you need the most — directions to the store or your ATM code, for example — needs to stay with you. Other things can be … Continue reading →