Memory

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I. Introduction

II. Dementia

Senility is a misused term for the loss of ability to think, reason, and

remember in older persons. Senility is not a medical condition; it is not

normal, natural, or inevitable with aging; it is not limited to older people

either. The term senility is replaced in most of my pertinent research by

the medical term dementia, which seems to describe a group of symptoms that

represent a change or deterioration from an individual's previous level of

functioning (Tueth, 1995). Dementia has specific causes, which impair

long-term memory and quite relevantly;: language, judgment, spatial

perception, behavior, and often personality, interfering with normal social

and occupational functioning. Most dementias are evidently both progressive

and irreversible. According to Cummings (1995) after the age of 60, the

frequency of dementia in the population statistically doubles every 5 years:

that is to say it affects only 1% of 60-64-year-olds but 30-40% of those

over age 85 (Cummings, 1995).

The most common causes of dementia are Alzheimer's Disease (Tueth, 1995),

and vascular problems or problems related to a stroke (Yoshitake et al.,

1995) . Depression, believed to cause some symptoms of dementia, may be as

common in early dementia as it is by itself and may improve with prompt

treatment even in people with dementia. The risk of dementia increases with

age. Although statistics concerning those who have dementias worldwide are not

known, it is known that most dementias are not reversible but that people with

dementia can function better with treatment of other medical or sensory problems

, and optimal social and environmental support. From what I have learned,

stimulation and activity can also help people with dementia.

It is very important to note that minor memory problems in older people

previously attributed to senility may have other causes, such as

distraction, fatigue, grief, stress, alcohol, sensory loss, difficulty with

concentration or inability to remember many details at once, illness, or

medications (Cummings, 1995). Confusion and disorientation caused by these

problems may apparently be reversible though.

III. Examining Alzheimer's Disease

By definition, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an incurable degenerative disease

of the brain. AD is a progressive dementing illness in which the core

symptom is long-term memory loss (Tueth, 1995). Other associated symptoms

include impairments in language, abstract reasoning, and visual spatial

abilities as previously described in dementia. Personality changes are

common and range from apathy to restless agitation. These are said to be

directly related to memory difficulties (inferred from Elias, 1992).

Psychiatric symptoms, including depression, delusions, and hallucinations,

may also occur during the course of AD resulting somewhat from the severe

loss of memory.

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