I lost my car keys yesterday, again. I forgot to bring in all the groceries from the car. Mild memory loss is common in older adults, and often doesn’t affect their daily lives. But memory loss that gets worse may be a sign of dementia, and often leads to serious impairments of reasoning, thinking, and planning skills.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. Usually dementia gets worse over time. How long this process takes is different for each person. Some people stay the same for years. Others lose skills very quickly.
The two most common forms of dementia in older people are Alzheimer’s disease and multi infarct dementia (sometimes called vascular dementia). These types of dementia are irreversible, which means they cannot be cured. In Alzheimer’s disease, nerve cell changes in certain parts of the brain result in the death of a large number of cells. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease begin slowly and become steadily worse. As the disease progresses, symptoms range from mild forgetfulness to serious impairments in thinking, judgment, and the ability to perform daily activities. Eventually, patients may need total care, which typically must be managed outside the home, at great expense.
In vascular dementia, a series of strokes or changes in the brain’s blood supply may result in the death of brain tissue. The location in the brain where the strokes occur and the severity of the strokes determine the seriousness of the problem and the symptoms that arise. Symptoms usually begin abruptly and progress in a step-wise fashion with repeated strokes. At this time, there is no way to reverse damage that has already been caused by a stroke. However, treatment to prevent further strokes is very important.
Talk with your doctor. Manage high blood pressure and diabetes. Manage cholesterol. Medication management is important. Although there is no cure, ignoring the inevitable will only hasten and worsen the outcome.
For more information, please call 661-287-3260, or visit our website at www.theMcNamaraLawFirm.com.