MEMORY LOSS

Memory Loss



Memory Loss

Introduction

Everyone at some point of time forgets things. There has been many times when we misplace our car keys or forget somebody's name. Some type of memory problems and modest decline in some thinking skills is a common part of aging. However, doctors say that memory loss is the most common mental change in people which can occur at any time in a Person's life. Memory loss may be experienced by people without having physical signs of the disease. Thus the diagnosis of memory loss is very important for the patient and his family. Thus in this paper we are going to rationalise on the information given to a patient's family as a leaflet in helping them to understand the diagnosis of memory loss in their relative.

Alzheimer's Disease

Before going into the detail we would discuss the concept of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is described as a disease of the brain that affects the transmission of chemicals in the brain (Berchtold, 1998). When a person is affected by Alzheimer's plaques and tangles develop in the brain causing death of some of the brain cells. The disease is progressive so with time more parts of the brain can be damaged and the symptoms of memory loss can increase. Because of brain damage a person's normal functioning will gradually decline such as the ability to remember, understand, communicate and reasoning. There are some common symptoms of the disease, however each individual affected by Alzheimer can be affected differently hence no two people can be affected the same way. An individual is affected in their own way.

It is believed that a combination of factors such as age, diet, genetic inheritance, environmental factors, overall general health (physical make-up), and emotional resilience is responsible for the development of Alzheimer's disease. However the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are not always obvious, the disease may develop silently over a long period of time before symptoms can be identified (Mace, & Rabins, 2006). A trigger may be required for the onset of clinical disease. There three stages that have been identified which an individual may experience and it make it easy to understand the progression of the disease over time. Some symptoms may begin to show earlier or later than others or not at all. The mentioning of stages is not a definitive sequence of events because these stages may overlap, meaning an individual may need help in one aspect on the other hand he might manage quiet well without help or support. Memory loss worsens over time while other symptoms may appear at one stage and disappears.

Mild cognitive impairment is not dementia related. This condition has no influence on the patient's functioning of daily living activities (Rosness et al, 2009). However the burden of patients experienced by carers in both the groups Cognitive impairment and in mild cognitive was similar (Frank et al, 2006) notably more to impact on the spouses (Garand et al, 2007). In addition, psychosocial factors were identified that contributes some forms ...