Expert Q & A:
What Everyone Needs to Know about Memory
Dr. Gayle Hostetter sorts through basic questions that worry us all.
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How to distinguish between every day forgetfulness and more serious concerns such as Alzheimer’s? Dr. Gayle Hostetter, a board certified neuropsychologist with the Queen’s Medical Center, shares a few tips. Dr. Hostetter specializes in issues of memory and aging.
Dr. Hostetter: Unfortunately, loss of memory is part of normal healthy aging. As we age, we all have more difficulty than we did when we were younger.
One difference is that in normal healthy aging, people are relatively more able to come up with something they’ve forgotten if given some time. For instance, they may not be able to think of a word, but it may pop into their minds later.
Another thing is people might go from one room to another to get something, and then they can’t remember what they were on a mission to find. Often it helps to retrace their steps, and when they get back to the first room they say, oh I remember now. If cues can help jog the memory, that suggests it’s normal healthy aging.
Or we may remember we heard something, but we can’t remember where it came from. That’s normal.
There’s no clear cutoff between what’s normal and what’s not. The first difficulty that people notice in Alzheimer’s disease is a loss of memory, especially the short-term memory. People generally see their doctor if their memory problems seem to them or to family members to be in excess of other people in their age group, like their friends or siblings. That’s a good time to check.
Dr. Hostetter: Normal memory loss is something most of us will experience to some extent.
Dementia is a technical umbrella term covering a loss in memory and other functional areas.
Alzheimer’s is a particular disease that produces among other things a dementia, a type of memory loss, and then a progressive loss in other functions.
Dr. Hostetter: The effects of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and a brain ischemia—or reduction of blood flow to the brain—can also result in memory loss.
A number of conditions mimic dementia, but are reversible. Deficiencies in vitamin B12 or folic acid can produce a dementia-like syndrome. So one of the first things a physician would do if somebody said I’m having memory loss is to order some blood tests and then give supplements.
Depression can also look like a dementia but is reversible. When people are depressed, everything takes too much effort and they’re not remembering as well.
Even the effects of stress can mimic a dementia, but this is also reversible.
Dr. Hostetter: Staying physically active may keep more oxygen and nutrients going to the brain. There are more studies that show this helps, and no studies that show it hurts.
Other studies show that cognitive training helps normal older adults. So the more we can stay mentally active, the better our chances are.
The Honolulu Heart Study on aging Japanese men showed that high cholesterol in midlife is a risk factor for a dementia in late life. So being aware of the benefits of eating healthy foods is very important much earlier than we initially thought. We should be thinking about foods that decrease cholesterol and other non-healthy chemicals in our body.
Additionally, we probably can do some things with just quality of life. The more optimistic we are, the more we’re likely to engage in activities, and either directly or secondarily, that seems to have a good effect on our mental capacity.
AL: When does memory loss become serious enough to see a doctor?
Dr. Hostetter: Unfortunately, loss of memory is part of normal healthy aging. As we age, we all have more difficulty than we did when we were younger.
One difference is that in normal healthy aging, people are relatively more able to come up with something they’ve forgotten if given some time. For instance, they may not be able to think of a word, but it may pop into their minds later.
Another thing is people might go from one room to another to get something, and then they can’t remember what they were on a mission to find. Often it helps to retrace their steps, and when they get back to the first room they say, oh I remember now. If cues can help jog the memory, that suggests it’s normal healthy aging.
Or we may remember we heard something, but we can’t remember where it came from. That’s normal.
There’s no clear cutoff between what’s normal and what’s not. The first difficulty that people notice in Alzheimer’s disease is a loss of memory, especially the short-term memory. People generally see their doctor if their memory problems seem to them or to family members to be in excess of other people in their age group, like their friends or siblings. That’s a good time to check.
AL: What’s the difference between normal memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer’s?
Dr. Hostetter: Normal memory loss is something most of us will experience to some extent.
Dementia is a technical umbrella term covering a loss in memory and other functional areas.
Alzheimer’s is a particular disease that produces among other things a dementia, a type of memory loss, and then a progressive loss in other functions.
AL: Is it true that sometimes dementia can be cured with a pill?
Dr. Hostetter: The effects of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and a brain ischemia—or reduction of blood flow to the brain—can also result in memory loss.
A number of conditions mimic dementia, but are reversible. Deficiencies in vitamin B12 or folic acid can produce a dementia-like syndrome. So one of the first things a physician would do if somebody said I’m having memory loss is to order some blood tests and then give supplements.
Depression can also look like a dementia but is reversible. When people are depressed, everything takes too much effort and they’re not remembering as well.
Even the effects of stress can mimic a dementia, but this is also reversible.
AL: What can we do to stay brain-healthy?
Dr. Hostetter: Staying physically active may keep more oxygen and nutrients going to the brain. There are more studies that show this helps, and no studies that show it hurts.
Other studies show that cognitive training helps normal older adults. So the more we can stay mentally active, the better our chances are.
The Honolulu Heart Study on aging Japanese men showed that high cholesterol in midlife is a risk factor for a dementia in late life. So being aware of the benefits of eating healthy foods is very important much earlier than we initially thought. We should be thinking about foods that decrease cholesterol and other non-healthy chemicals in our body.
Additionally, we probably can do some things with just quality of life. The more optimistic we are, the more we’re likely to engage in activities, and either directly or secondarily, that seems to have a good effect on our mental capacity.
