Amnesia and its causes
.... Occasional memory lapses or forgetfulness are common. These may be associated with depression, stress, lack of sleep, and normal aging. Memory loss only becomes a problem when it is severe and interferes with daily living. Amnesia is a severe form of memory loss. It may be a partial or complete lack of recall. Depending on the cause of amnesia, the memory loss may arise suddenly or slowly. It also can be temporary or permanent. Many people with progressive memory loss may not be aware of their worsening forgetfulness. Family members or friends may be more able to judge whether memory lapses are getting worse. Depending on whether the memory loss is of short- or long-term memory, the individual or family may notice certain events, such as: · Inability to recognize family members · forgetting one's phone number or home address · forgetting how to return home from a familiar location · forgetting to eat, bathe, or maintain one's hygiene · forgetting friends' or family members' names Common medical causes of memory loss include: · normal aging · Alzheimer’s Disease · depression · head trauma · hysteria · seizures · chronic alcohol abuse drugs such as anesthetics, · barbiturates, and hallucinogens · electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) · temporal lobe surgery for conditions such as a brain tumor lack of oxygen to the brain · stroke · Huntington's disease · Atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries · Pick's disease · Lewy body disease · normal pressure hydrocephalus · chronic subdural hematoma , or bleeding on the brain tumor · Wilson's disease · neurosyphilis , or late-stage syphilis Mild memory loss comes normally with aging. Keeping the brain active may help to preserve brain cells. Reading, singing, doing puzzles, conversing, exercising, and eating a balanced diet stimulate blood flow and activity in the brain. Severe and worsening memory loss may develop into dementia. One form of this condition is dementia associated with Alzheimer's disease. Because there is no known cause for this disease, there is also no known prevention. Hormone replacement therapy may help postmenopausal women. Recent research indicates these drugs may delay or prevent the onset of Alzheimer's. Dementia is also related to strokes. High blood pressure and vascular disease may cause strokes. Preventing or treating high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and alcohol abuse are keyways to decrease the risk of dementia. A person does not need to see a healthcare professional about simple memory loss that happens only once in a while. If memory loss is severe and progressive, Alzheimer's disease must be considered. Dementia can be diagnosed only if a doctor is made aware of the problem. A person's family doctor or internal medicine physician can often make the diagnosis. In other cases, it may take a neurologist trained in specific testing procedures to determine the problem. The main types of amnesia are: · Anterograde amnesia: People who find it hard to remember ongoing events after suffering damage to the head. They do not tend to forget their childhood or who they are, but have trouble remembering day-to-day events. · Retrograde amnesia: People who find it hard to retrieve memories prior to an incident in which ...