There are many memory disorders and it can be difficult to understand the differences. I am asked the question all the time “What are the different type of memory loss?” Let me offer a very brief summary here…..
- Normal memory loss: Everybody’s brain ages. As the connections and chemicals in the brain alter with time, many people forget things like names, keys or what the they went in the next room for. This is fairly normal, and does not automatically lead to deterioration if a person is leading a brain healthy lifestyle overall.
- Mild cognitive impairment (MCI): Problems with memory, language, or other problem solving functions may be noticeable to others but they may not yet interfere with daily life activities. For example, a person continually loses their keys and forget a neighbor’s names however, they can still pay bills and do their regular shopping. The presence of MCI often shows up on professionally administered screening tests. It is thought that 1 in 5 people over 70 have MCI. Some develop Alzheimer’s disease later on and others do not.
- Early stage Alzheimer’s disease: In addition to pronounced memory problems (perhaps forgetting what happened yesterday or forgetting major news events), there can be cognitive troubles such as the inability count backward by 7s, becoming confused while planning meals or managing finances or occasionally even getting lost in the neighborhood. This condition can be diagnosed through testing and a complete medical exam to rule out other potential problems.
- Mid and Late Alzheimer’s disease: This always follows in progression after early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, there are no improvements known, only periods of stabilization with remediation and gradual decline.
- Early-Onset Alzheimer’s disease: This is different from early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Early-onset Alzheimer’s starts before age 65, thus the name.
- Dementia: Dementia is not a disease itself, but a set of symptoms including memory loss, cognitive problems, and other effects of deteriorating brain function. Alzheimer’s disease is one form of dementia. Other forms include vascular dementia (caused by very small strokes) and Lewy Body Dementia (of which Parkinson’s Disease Dementia is a subset).
- Senile dementia: This is an old fashioned term that usually refers to what we now call Alzheimer’s disease.
It is also important to note that there can be other causes of memory loss, some of which may just be temporary: These include depression, stress, insomnia, alcoholism, brain tumors, medications, or many other conditions.
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Current therapies for Alzheimer’s treat the symptoms associated with it, not the disease itself. It is important for patients and families affected by diseases such as Alzheimer’s to consider participating in clinical studies.
One such study for Alzheimer’s is the ICARA (Bapi) study (www.icarastudy.com), whose goal is to explore if an investigational drug, called Bapineuzumab, can help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease.
I’m interested in any studies regarding “chemo brain” and the effects on memory. My husband was treated 2 years ago for a cancern that is now in remission; however…he suffers from short-term memory loss. In the literature that we were given during treatment, there was a reference to “chemo brain” and that it is temporary, but could still last for several years. I’m interested in any research that could help us understand this.