Skip to Navigation
University of Pittsburgh
Print This Page Print this pages

February 3, 2011

ON HEALTH: Alzheimer’s

Is it just forgetfulness?

applesYou can’t remember where you parked your car. You misplace your cell phone. You forget the name of a neighbor.

Are these so-called senior moments indications of Alzheimer’s?

What all patients who come to Pitt’s Alzheimer Disease Research Center (ADRC) have in common is an indication of at least some memory decline, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Alzheimer’s, said Carolyn Rickard, certified physician assistant in the ADRC memory clinic.

Memory problems can have sources other than Alzheimer’s, such as  depression, drug interactions, strokes, head injuries and other types of dementia.

“We tell patients there are a couple things that you don’t need to worry about. If you occasionally lose your keys, or if you walk into a room and don’t remember why you went there, these are probably just senior moments and are normal with aging,” Rickard noted. “We don’t always give people bad news here.

But some memory lapses are cause for concern. “Forgetting phone conversations, not showing up for appointments, if you can’t remember the ATM number any more; you can’t work the TV remote control or the washer/dryer; you have to use a recipe for familiar meals; you have trouble remembering security codes or commonly called phone numbers — these probably are symptoms of dementia,” Rickard said.

The inability to put a meal together often is one of the first signs of dementia. “People can’t multi-task anymore. Besides being just slipping memory, there’s a deterioration in the ability to follow multi-step instructions or commands,” Rickard said.

Whether a patient has Alzheimer’s or not, getting an evaluation is a good idea, she said. It helps families plan — physically, emotionally, legally, financially — for what lies ahead, she said. It’s also important for family members to know, because they are at an increased risk if a parent or sibling has the disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by its slow, progressive decline. “With vascular dementia, for example, the patient may have a stroke or a TIA (transient ischemic attack), something that changes overnight, but then the course stays rather stable until you have another vascular event.

“With Alzheimer’s disease, typically, it would be a line of steady decline,” Rickard explained.

—Peter Hart


Leave a Reply