DEL.ICIO.USHEALTH / BABY BOOMERS
Try to remember. Memory test may help diagnose problem
For the Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Every time he plays racquetball, Fredrick Salmons, 60, blanks out almost as much as he blinks.
Not only does he sometimes forget the score during a fast-moving game, but whether he or his opponent served. That’s critical, because in racquetball, only the server can score.
Elizabeth Landt/elandt@ajc.com
ESSAY:
POSSIBLE WAYS TO GIVE BRAIN A WORKOUT
- Computer games
- Crossword puzzles
- Eating brain-healthy foods
- Reading rather than watching TV
- Physical exercise
- Avoiding alcohol
- Quitting smoking
- Eating more anti-oxidant-rich foods
- Surfing the Internet
- Source: George Mason University, Alzheimer's Association
DRUGS THAT CAN IMPAIR MEMORY
- Sleep medications
- Tranquilizers
- Anxiety medications
- Painkillers
- Anti-hypertensives
- Heartburn medications
- Antidepressants
- Anti-epileptics
- Anti-psychotics
- Parkinson's disease medications
- Anti-cholinergics
- Source: AARP
WHEN TO SEE A DOCTOR
- You recognize your car keys, but don't know what they're for
- You recognize your grandchildren, but can't remember their names
- When you rely on others to help solve problems
- A decline in judgment
- A decline in ability to pursue hobbies
- When you need prompting to shave or shower
- Source: Harvard Medical School
Related health articles:
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- Back to Health news
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“It happens to my opponent, too, usually,” says Salmons, an east Cobb County business consultant who’s on the go constantly. “Sometimes I wonder if it’s normal, but I’m sure the same kind of thing happened 20 years ago and it didn’t bother me one bit.”
Scientists say such lapses are normal, for the most part, even for people who are years away from being at high risk for dementia, but who have so much to juggle in a hectic world that sometimes their memories fail them.
Dr. James J. Lah, an Emory University neurologist, has developed a short, simple screening test aimed at detecting memory problems. He recently published a study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that shows a quick test of five minutes or less works well.
He found that among 204 older adults studied, the test classified people as cognitively healthy, mildly impaired or suffering from dementia, with an accuracy rate of 83 percent.
“Since current medications can only delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease but are not able to reverse its devastating effects, a test like this is key to help individuals detect” problems early, Lah says.
Doctors using Lah’s inexpensive quick test would be able to screen more patients than if they relied exclusively on traditional tests used for diagnosing mild cognitive disorder. Mild cognitive disorder is thought to be an early sign of Alzheimer’s and the screening for it can take hours.
“It’s become a sensitive issue for all of us,” says Lah, 46. “People are taking memory lapses that are normal very seriously. We call these the ‘worried well.’ Most don’t have anything to worry about, because some memory loss is normal as we age, but we notice it more.”
Mental exercises
In an effort to stave off memory loss, many people are turning to brain-boosting exercises to stay sharp.
“There is all kinds of research that shows games, puzzles and software you can upload to test your mind actually do help,” says Andrew Carle, an expert on aging at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., who studies brain-training products. “There is real science behind this, empirical evidence to show that exercising your brain may delay mild cognitive impairment or even Alzheimer’s. People are terrified of losing intellectual capabilities.”
The games “are good things, but should be viewed like exercise equipment,” he says. “You don’t want to put them in the corner with the Nordic track and not use them.”
He points to Dr. Gary Small, director of UCLA’s Memory and Aging Research Center, who reported in a study in October that older people who surf the Internet had more complex reasoning skills than others the same age new to the Web. He says surfing the Net “may help exercise and improve brain function.”
Other studies suggest that physical exercise strengthens the brain and that cholesterol drugs such as statins offer protection against memory loss, along with tea, grape seed, vegetable juice, fish and even nicotine patches.
Lah, however, isn’t convinced, though he adds that “it would be too harsh to say that there were implicit flaws in all of the studies.”
The “bottom line is that I believe that there are a number of lifestyle factors that can protect people, including physical and dietary measures for good cardiovascular health and mentally challenging occupations and leisure activities,” Lah says. “But I believe that for these to have an impact on your risk of developing Alzheimer’s in your 80s, you need to be engaging in the practices beginning in your 40s and 50s.”
Deborah Burke, a scientist at Pomona College in California, says few baby boomers who have momentary lapses have anything to worry about.
An expert in what she calls “tip of the tongue” experiences, she says it’s common for busy people to forget names or such things as racquetball scores.
“It’s related to stress,” she says. “You have an event you want to remember, but you’re distracted. It’s not like not remembering your pet’s name. A lot of times what you know just won’t come to mind.”
That’s good news for Salmons and others, like Gordon Jones, senior historian at the Atlanta History Center, and Tom Headlee, a Kennesaw financial planner, who say they have memory lapses, too.
Jones, 46, takes ginkgo biloba “all the time because I’m always forgetting names. I take it even though my doctor says there’s no benefit. But I swear it helps my long-term memory.”
He’s found that “the more I stimulate my brain, the easier it is to call up short-term memory.”
Headlee, 57, owner of Vision Planning Services, says he puts a “mental picture in my head that will help me trigger a name and when I meet people, I look them in the eye and repeat their name, like, ‘Nice to meet you, Bill.’ But I don’t worry about it yet. My dad died at 87 and never had memory problems. And mom’s 86 and very sharp.”
Salmons often writes down things he used to remember and makes an effort before social gatherings to visualize who’ll be there. It’s weird, he says, because he has “no trouble” recalling names of men he served with in Vietnam 40 years ago.
Potential for overload
Lah fears the nation’s already overstressed health care system could “implode” unless better ways are found to help people maintain memory. There are 78 million baby boomers, and more than 3 million turned 63 this year. The likelihood for developing Alzheimer’s doubles every five years after 65, according to the Alzheimers Association.
“If we are not better with early diagnosis and treatment,” Lah says, “we will absolutely bankrupt the system.”
He says federal agencies “are undertaking a more serious approach to prevention, but even if successful, those measures will not be felt for a generation.
Internists and family doctors need to ask patients questions about their memories and refer more to specialists. And Lah says his new test may help doctors do just that.
Services »
