A Senior Moment or Early Alzheimer's Disease?

A Senior Moment or Early Alzheimer's Disease?    As we hear more and more about the dreaded consequences of Alzheimer's disease, it's easy to be concerned that every little memory lapse we suffer might be an early warning sign of dementia.   But it's normal, as we grow older, to have more difficulty recalling names or choosing the right word. Such garden-variety forgetfulness — formally called "age-associated memory impairment" or "normal age-related forgetfulness" (NARF) — must be clearly distinguished from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. The normal forgetfulness of older age may be frustrating, but it is not disabling like dementia.   Here are some examples of the differences between normal age-related forgetfulness and dementia, taken from the 2008 Johns Hopkins White Paper about memory:   ·         A person with NARF may at times misplace keys, eyeglasses, or other items; a demented person forgets what these items are used for or puts them in inappropriate places.   ·         Someone with NARF may momentarily forget the name of an acquaintance; a demented individual may not remember knowing that person.   ·         A person with NARF may on occasion forget to run an errand; persons with dementia, because they do not know what day or time it is, cannot run any errands at all.   ·         People with NARF may joke about their forgetfulness; demented people are unaware of their memory loss and other cognitive problems.   ·         While driving, a person with NARF may briefly forget when to make a turn; a demented individual can easily become disoriented or lost, even in a familiar place.   A common, and generally correct, guideline is that people who worry about their forgetfulness are unlikely to be suffering from a serious memory abnormality. People with a serious impairment of memory tend to be unaware of their memory problems, don't worry about them, or else blame other factors when memory lapses are brought to their attention.    (Source:   By Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D, 9 May 2008, http://health.yahoo.com/experts/healthnews/13890/a-senior-moment-or-early-alzheimers-disease)