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All too many times overwhelmed caregivers are physically and emotionally depleted and need to take time to rest and care for themselves. Believing in a holistic approach to caregiver stress and a strong commitment to helping our members find the right solutions, we created this blog to help you connect with others who, like you, may be facing the same eldercare issues and challenges. Feel free to comment, ask questions, and submit articles. Please forward the blog link to your family and friends. They'll be glad you did.

Warm regards,

Patricia Grace
founder & CEO
Aging with Grace

Friday, September 17, 2010

Study finds 'Senior moments' are not necessarily part of aging process,


Those momentary memory lapses that typically accompany aging may not be so normal after all. A new study links common forgetfulness in old age to strokes and Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago studied the mental acuity 354 Catholic nuns, priests and brothers for 16 years. Autopsies conducted after their deaths revealed that brain lesions caused by abnormal proteins and neurofibrillary tangles were present among all the participants who showed even mild or moderate mental decline during the study. These proteins and tangles are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers also noted evidence of stroke in all those with mild or moderate mental decline.

The good news, according to researchers, is that the mild memory lapses associated with old age did not predict the development of Alzheimer's. They also did not correlate with dementia at the end of the study. Also, not all participants had the same level of lesions. This suggests there could be other causes for mental decline in the years before death. The report appears in the Sept. 15 issue of the journal Neurology.

2 comments:

  1. The study you presented is very interesting, and optimistic in a way. The many discoveries we have been making about the physiology of alzheimer's and dementia is truly remarkable. I think it good news to hear that not all memory lapses are predictive of alzheimer's or dementia. This is great news for those of us who may have experienced it or witness it in our loved ones or patients. Alzheimers can sometimes come to mind when you witness a memory loss, so this is great information to put people's worries to rest. Thank you for sharing!

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