Alzheimer’s disease

Did you ever briefly forget your friend’s name or have trouble recalling the name of a song on the radio? Many of us joke that it is an “early form of Alzheimer’s.” However, if you are younger than 60, the likelihood that you have Alzheimer’s disease is slim. The memory loss that most people experience can be attributed to many different reasons, such as lack of sleep, too much on their mind, anxiety, or depression. This memory loss tends to be brief, occasional, and has little impact on daily life.

Memory loss that occurs more frequently and that begins to impact a person’s life, however, is usually a type of dementia.

Dementias are usually irreversible and not curable.Dementia primarily affects the elderly and can have many origins. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, occurring about 65% of the time. However, it is also important to rule out other forms of dementia (differential diagnosis).

Some lists potential causes of dementia (sometimes referred to as "senility").

Neurologic disorders:
Stroke, Transient ischemic attack, Biswanger’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Pick’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Infections:
Encephalitis, Meningitis.

Metabolic disorders:
Thyroid, Pancreatic, Adrenal.

Cardiovascular disorders:
Vascular occlusion.

Medications:
• Anticholinergics—blocks action of acetylcholine, a nerve transmitter
• Sedative/hypnotic—sleeping pills
• Antihypertensives—blood pressure medicine

Toxins:
Heavy metals

Mental illness:
Schizophrenia, Depression, Substance abuse.

Vitamin deficiencies:
B12, Folate.

Intracranial causes:
Tumors, Subdural hematoma, Hydrocephalus, Abcesses.

Many of these causes, such as those listed under infections, metabolic disorders, medications, and vitamin deficiencies, can be treated and the dementia abates.

Since there are many possible reasons for dementia-like attributes, it is important to see a neurologist. A neurologist is a medical doctor who specializes in the brain and the disorders that affect the brain.

Neurologists often specialize in a particular brain disorder. For instance, one neurologist may treat primarily patients who have had a stroke (temporary or permanent loss of some body functioning),while other neurologists may treat primarily Alzheimer’s patients. Therefore, choosing an appropriate neurologist is one of the first steps in determining the correct diagnosis.

The neurologist will then assist in determining if a patient has a form of dementia. If it is concluded that it is dementia, the neurologist will further attempt to determine the likely cause.