What is Memory Loss?

Memory disorders are medical conditions that affect your brain’s ability to store and recall information. They can disrupt your ability to perform everyday tasks, remember your kids’ names, or even your own.

These disorders are more commonly referred to as dementia, and the number of diagnoses is rapidly increasing with the aging of the American population. 

Types of Memory Loss

There are several types of dementia, including:

• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Lewy Body Dementia
• Frontotemporal and Vascular Dementia

Symptoms and Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease

Most people forget a name or where they set their keys from time to time. But with memory disorders, it may interfere with your daily life.

That’s why it’s important to know the signs of a memory disorder, so you can recognize them in yourself or a loved one. Signs of a memory disorder may include:

• Personality changes, such as seeming withdrawn or depressed
• Trouble with short-term memory. Most may repeat themselves or repeat tasks because they forget they did something even 10 minutes prior.
• Disorientation or confusion
• Difficulty with language, such as confusing words for each other, or the inability to remember commonly used terms

You may need neuro-diagnostic tests to confirm the type and cause of your memory loss, such as an electroencephalogram (EEG), to measure your brain’s electrical activity.

 What Causes Memory Loss?

There are many reasons you may experience memory loss. Some memory loss may come with age, while others occur after an injury or with other medical conditions, such as tumors.

 Some causes of memory loss are preventable or reversible, including:

• Alcohol abuse
• Mental health problems, including depression
• Head trauma
• Some medications
• Poor nutrition

How is Memory Loss Treated?

Treatment for memory loss is typically symptomatic, and may change as the disease progresses.

During the early and middle stages, dementia may be treated with medication that temporarily improves cognitive function by helping regulation in chemicals between nerve cells in the brain and helping maintain thinking skills and improve behavioral symptoms.

Visit our health library for more information on memory loss.