On Wednesday the discussion at the Alzheimer’s International Conference turned to the topic of subjective cognitive impairment. Studies presented Wednesday at the conference in Boston showed that people with some types of cognitive concerns were more likely to have signs of the Alzheimer’s disease process and develop dementia later. Research presented by Dr. Amariglio, for example, found that people with more concerns about memory and organizing ability were more likely to have amyloid, a key Alzheimer’s-related protein, in their brains.
And, in a significant shift highlighted at the conference, leading Alzheimer’s researchers are talking more about “subjective cognitive decline” – people’s own sense that their memory and thinking skills are slipping even before others have noticed.
“The whole field now is moving to this area, and saying ‘Hey, maybe there is something to this, and maybe we should pay attention to these people,’ ” said Dr. Ronald C. Petersen, chairman of the advisory panel to the federal government’s new National Alzheimer’s Project.
(Imagine that, doctor’s taking seriously their patient’s concerns! Actually I believe most doctor’s already do, they just do not have the tools to do much about it.)
Dr. Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic’s Alzheimer’s center, said preliminary results of a Mayo study of healthy older adults in Minnesota suggested something similar.
“Lo and behold, those who had a concern about their memory in fact had more likelihood” of later developing mild cognitive impairment, an early phase of dementia, he said. He said study participants with memory concerns were 56 percent more likely to be given a diagnosis of such impairment, even when results were adjusted for factors like education, genetic risk and psychiatric issues like anxiety and depression.
“These people are sensing something, and there’s some biological signals that correlate,” Dr. Petersen said. “I think it’s real.”
While memory problems don’t necessarily signal dementia (in our book we note more than 50 different things that can cause memory problems) still it’s a good idea, whenever one notices a decline to ask why? Maybe it’s resulting from an infection or medication, perhaps a thyroid, a B-12 or hormonal deficiency, but obviously something is not right, it’s a warning that should not be ignored. (see chapter 3 in our book for things to consider and tests to request) The good news is, as you will find on this site. There are many things that can address the underlying pathologies that can help improve memory and reduce the risk for dementia. But it usually starts with a good medical assessment, often requiring some blood work, as well as the typical memory tests. And the sooner one get’s started the greater the likelihood they can turn things around.
For more see the NY times article this was taken from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/18/health/looking-for-early-signs-of-dementia.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&comments
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