Forgetfulness in older people is called. Amnesia is loss of memory in young and old people. Signs, diagnosis and treatment. Memory loss in the elderly: causes and treatment

From this article you will learn:

How does memory loss occur in older people?

What are the causes of memory loss in an elderly person?

What causes partial and complete memory loss in old age?

In case of memory loss in an elderly person, which doctor should he contact?

How is memory loss treated in the elderly?

What folk remedies help with this disease?

According to statistics, at the beginning of 2000, the number of elderly people over 65 years old was more than 400,000 people. Experts say that by 2025 the number of pensioners will reach 800,000. Memory loss in the elderly is a disease that affects more than 50% of grandparents. Of course, this problem worries not only the elderly person, but also his relatives, and they strive to find a way out of this situation.

How does memory loss occur in older people?

It is almost impossible to influence the cause of memory impairment, because the disease is caused by the natural aging process. The ability to remember information is gradually impaired and this, of course, affects the lifestyle of an elderly person. First, the pensioner loses his memory of what just happened.

For example, grandfather may forget why he went to the kitchen. Alas, at this stage, the relatives of the elderly cannot even imagine that this is how a disease such as memory loss in an elderly person manifests itself. Then, he begins to forget about appointments, birthdays, and his promises. Memory impairment can manifest itself in different ways, so only a doctor can determine the diagnosis.

If memory impairment is not treated immediately, the disease will progress. Dementia is characterized by a severe disorder of brain activity, that is, the processes of memorization, thinking, generalization, etc. Memory impairment causes difficulties with everyday activities.

It is also difficult for a pensioner to work, because work requires a good memory, the ability to think and analyze. The initial stage is accompanied by a complete loss of independence, and the moderate and severe stages of a disease such as memory loss in an elderly person require constant care for the patient.

The disease takes a long time to develop, often progressing for years. As a rule, dementia is accompanied by other diseases, for example, Alzheimer's disease, vascular insufficiency. Memory impairment can be treated, but the success of therapy depends on whether the elderly person sees a doctor on time.

How does memory loss manifest in an elderly person?

Memory impairment and absent-mindedness are two different things. Memory loss in older people is accompanied by the following symptoms:

Difficulties in keeping promises or agreements given to someone;

Problems with performing household chores;

Speech impairment;

Inattention;

Changed handwriting;

Unreasonable irritability;

A sharp narrowing of the range of interests;

Fast fatiguability;

Constant bad mood.

It is important to understand that not everyone experiences memory loss in older people. As a rule, the acuity of perception and thinking decreases somewhat over the age of 45 and is expressed differently in everyone. Minor memory impairment is a consequence of a slower speed of processing received information. In most cases, this condition does not cause any concern.

What are the causes of memory loss in older people?

As a result of the aging process, the following functions are impaired:

Reaction to external stimuli;

Ability to switch between different activities;

Concentration of attention.

The perception of oneself as an individual remains adequate, the ability to remember the recent past and use acquired skills is retained. Violation of these functions indicates brain pathology.

If an older person's cognitive abilities change, then it may be a problem called memory loss in older people. Experts say that age-related changes are expressed differently in each person. It is known that some grandparents have better memory than their children and grandchildren, while others suffer from problems such as memory impairment after 40-45 years.

So, the main causes of memory loss in older people are as follows:

• Age-related changes;

• Brain pathologies.

The following factors contribute to the occurrence of the disease:

Metabolic disease;

Suffered traumatic brain injury;

Infection;

Poisoning.

Partial and complete memory loss in old age: what causes it

Unfortunately, memory loss in the elderly is a real tragedy for the elderly person and his relatives.

Treat diseases such as Alzheimer's disease(complete memory loss) and multiple sclerosis(partial memory loss in older people) is not possible today.

In recent years, more and more cases associated with such a problem as sudden memory loss in older people. The disease is accompanied by the fact that the grandmother or grandfather does not remember his relatives, his name, address, etc. In other words, the elderly person forgets absolutely everything. Sudden memory impairment is being studied at the Institute. Serbian, but on this moment There is no way to completely cure this disease.

Unfortunately, every year the number of people faced with such a diagnosis as memory loss in the elderly increases. Official medicine does not know how to treat such a disease, for example, Alzheimer's disease. Because of this, patients are increasingly turning to the media, drawing public attention to this problem.

To understand what causes complete or short-term memory loss in older people, the doctor assesses the patient’s condition at the current moment, as well as for a certain period of time preceding the disease. The doctor finds out the reason that caused the memory impairment and then prescribes treatment.

Partial memory impairment is caused, as a rule, by a decrease in the energy of the brain, compared with its indicator in the area of ​​the pituitary gland and hypothalamus. By the way, a disease such as multiple sclerosis is the initial stage of Alzheimer's disease.

The energy of the pineal gland gradually decreases and this is the reason why memory is completely lost. If the disease proceeds normally, that is, is not accompanied by injuries, head bruises, etc., then memory impairment will progress slowly and the development of the disease can last for years.

Memory loss in older people: which doctor treats

Memory impairment may indicate the presence of a mental or neurological disease, therefore, when such a problem occurs, first of all, you need to visit a psychiatrist and neurologist.

Treatment of memory loss in older people begins with identifying the causes of the disease. Through laboratory and instrumental studies, specialists are able to identify brain lesions that can cause memory impairment. The following methods are used for this:

Blood chemistry;

Toxicology test;

Biochemical analysis of cerebrospinal fluid;

Electroencephalogram;

Brain research;

Study of cerebral vessels.

Further treatment for memory loss in older people depends on the cause of the disease. As a rule, amnesia occurs as a result of some previous event. For example, if memory impairment occurs due to a traumatic brain injury, the doctor prescribes medications that help improve metabolism in nerve tissues.

What medications are used to treat memory loss in older people?

Memory impairment is treated with various medications. The choice of drug is determined by the underlying disease. Of course, treatment of a disease that provokes a problem such as memory loss in older people is a priority. Disease, for example, atherosclerosis, diabetes, high blood pressure, is treated in parallel.

Treatment of memory loss in older people is carried out using the following groups of drugs:

Anticholinesterase drugs are used for amnesia;

Memantines are used to treat amnesia in Alzheimer's disease;

Nootropics are prescribed if memory is lost due to stress or traumatic brain injury.

The following drugs are used to restore memory:

1) Donepezil allows you to slow down the progression of dementia, restore the patient’s activity during the day, improve the process of thinking and processing information. It is recommended to take 1 tablet before going to bed. Treatment for memory loss in older adults should be continued for at least six weeks.

2) Memantine helps improve memory and concentration. The medicine helps eliminate symptoms of depression. Doctors recommend taking it with meals, half a tablet (5 ml) per day, and then the dose should be increased to 1-2 tablets (10-20 ml).

3) Bilobil helps improve cerebral circulation, increase the utilization of oxygen and glucose by nerve cells. Doctors recommend taking the medicine 3 times a day, 1 capsule. Treatment of memory loss in older people should be continued for 2-3 months.

4) Nootropil improves memory and attention, metabolism in nervous tissue. The drug should be taken 1-2 capsules (800-1600 ml) during the day.

5) Undevit helps improve metabolism, functioning nervous system. Take the medicine 2 capsules 3 times a day.

How to treat memory loss in the elderly with folk remedies

If an elderly person is worried about memory impairment, you can try the following folk remedies:

• Walnut leaves. Pour boiling water (1 liter) over walnut leaves (50 grams), cover with a towel and leave to steep. Drink 150 ml decoction 3 times a day. Judging by the reviews, this remedy can improve memory, and in some cases its use can completely eliminate the disease.

  Eleutherococcus roots. Place the roots (40 grams) in a container, add water (600 ml) and boil for 10 minutes. To improve memory, take 150 ml infusion four times a day.

  Thyme. Place 1 tbsp in a saucepan. l. thyme and fill it with water that has just boiled, cover with a lid and leave the broth to infuse for a quarter of an hour. Drink a glass of tea as usual three times a day. With regular use, the disease develops more slowly, and memory improves significantly.

If memory impairment is caused by an atherosclerotic process in the blood vessels, then you can use the following remedies:

• Dill seeds. Add 1 tbsp. l. dill seeds into a saucepan and pour boiling water (500 ml) over them. Let the broth brew for 30 minutes. Take half a glass three times a day before meals.

  Potato broth. Take five potatoes, wash and peel them. Place potato peelings in water and cook for 20 minutes. Strain the broth and drink half a glass 3 times a day.

If memory loss is caused by a head injury:

• Walnuts. Peel the nuts, cut the kernels and pour honey over them. Take the resulting mixture 1 tbsp. l. three times a day. Continue treating memory loss in older people for 1.5 months.

  Freshly squeezed potato juice. If you want to get rid of a problem such as memory impairment, we recommend drinking 150 ml of this juice 2 times a day for two weeks.

6 recommendations for treating memory loss in old age

Try to talk and argue more, do crossword puzzles, listen to the radio, and read. Frequent viewing of television programs impairs memory and can cause memory impairment and even dementia.

Monitor your cholesterol levels and have them checked regularly. This way you can prevent the occurrence of such problems as sudden memory loss in older people.

Take foods or supplements containing antioxidants every day to help eliminate or slow the progression of conditions such as memory loss.

You can improve your memory by regularly taking 40 mg of Gingko biloba with meals. In addition, memory impairment can be prevented by consuming medicinal herbal decoctions.

Thanks to craniosacral osteopathy, it is possible to significantly increase the flow of blood to the brain, which significantly improves memory and concentration.

If your elderly relative has attention and memory impairment, and his illness worries you greatly, we recommend that you consult a psychologist.

Memory disorders are a common disease among older people. There are many etiological factors responsible for the occurrence of this disorder. This is a special type of memory loss, which, unlike amnesia in the young population, is practically not amenable to complete treatment, and without it it only progresses and gets worse. Rarely does the disorder exist in isolation; most often there are problems with thought processes, and this is called senile dementia.

• Show all

  Senile memory impairment

  Partial or complete memory loss is called amnesia and can be due to various reasons. If it develops in old age and is combined with disturbances of attention and mental function, the disease is called senile (senile) dementia. This diagnosis is disappointing because it means that symptoms will worsen and progress over time.

  A decrease in cognitive processes leads to a significant deterioration in the quality of life of patients. Memory lapses deepen and progress with age. At the initial stages, partial loss of memory for current events occurs - patients do not remember what they ate for lunch, whether they turned off the iron or not, whether they closed the door, etc. Over time, information about earlier events is lost, and in the later stages of the disease, patients stop recognize even close people.

  

  Short-term amnesia

  This is the mildest form of the disease, begins with minor memory loss and is sometimes a normal variant. Events that occurred in the immediate period - current or that occurred a month ago - are erased. After a short period of time, patients remember what they forgot. But if such amnesia drags on for a day or more, then it is necessary to seek help to prescribe appropriate treatment.

  Stressful situations provoke short-term memory impairment, after which the memories return. Due to their condition, patients become confused and frightened; timely treatment will stop the progression of symptoms and allow them to remain with a bright mind and memory for a long time.

  

  Sudden memory loss

  A particular type of disorder occurs suddenly and interferes with routine activities. Often, older people forget why they went to the store halfway there, or when walking to another room, they forget why they went there. This also occurs in young people and is associated with high psycho-emotional stress, past illnesses or chronic pathologies.

  With age, without appropriate therapy, symptoms only worsen and even become dangerous. Amnesia can strike by surprise anywhere, confusing and frightening patients, thereby bringing even more stress and increasing severity of the disease.

  

  Sudden amnesia

  The most mysterious type of memory disorder, there is no exact data on why it develops and how to predict it. People in this state are unable to remember anything from their lives; all information is erased from their memory, even their own name. Such patients do not know where they live, who they are or their relatives. It is quite difficult to establish the identity of the patient if he does not have documents with him.

  Sudden memory loss is dangerous because older people often get lost; they can travel hundreds of kilometers from home and only then come to their senses, without remembering anything from their past life. Sometimes it is never possible to establish their identity and place of residence.

  Who is more susceptible to memory disorders?

  In a person over the age of 60, the appearance of moderate memory impairment is considered a normal variant due to the aging of the body. Severe memory disorders are registered in 47 million elderly people on the planet (according to WHO), and this figure is predicted to increase to 73 million.

  The leading cause of senile amnesia in the world is Alzheimer's disease; in Russia, the leading position is occupied by vascular pathology of the brain.

  Causes

  
  

  The appearance of memory disorders with age is associated with many reasons. The main one is the changes that occur in the human body with the aging process. This is a physiological phenomenon that occurs at the cellular level. With age, metabolism slows down, cells regenerate at a slower rate, and plastic processes decrease, including in nervous tissue.

  To record information, the human brain forms a connection between neurons; it can be short-term or long-term. The duration of memory depends on the type of associative connection. With the aging process, neurons become disturbed in their metabolism and are unable to adequately create new connections. The ability to remember current events is lost - older people remember well the memories of their youth, but cannot say what happened five minutes ago. As the disease progresses, previously formed connections begin to break down and patients lose information that they previously clearly remembered.

  Senile amnesia develops with vascular diseases of the brain, most often this occurs with atherosclerotic lesions. Strokes and transient ischemic attacks cause not only memory impairment, but also lead to disorders of thinking, speech and attention.

  A separate group of factors includes infectious diseases that affect the nervous system, poisoning with neurotropic substances, and various chronic diseases accompanied by the development of hypoxia - respiratory and of cardio-vascular system. Oxygen is vital for all tissues, including the nervous tissue; its deficiency leads to acidification of the cellular environment and disruption of normal metabolism.

  Some chronic diseases also lead to memory and attention impairments, including the following:

  • brain tumors;
  • past infections;
  • diffuse toxic goiter;
  • B12 deficiency anemia;
  • multiple sclerosis;
  • Alzheimer's disease;
  • diabetes mellitus and others.

  Absolutely all older people are at risk for amnesia, but not everyone suffers from this disease. It depends on lifestyle and hereditary predisposition. With the passage of time and the aging of the body, the percentage of people with memory impairments is increasing, and given the aging of the nation, this problem is most acute, since it concerns the lives of not only patients, but also their loved ones.

  Treatment

  Therapy for cognitive disorders should be comprehensive and include medication and restorative measures. Getting rid of memory lapses completely is a very difficult task and it is not possible to achieve it. In case of severe failures, it is possible to only partially regain memory, and the recovery process itself takes a long time. Treatment is aimed at stabilizing the condition and preventing the deepening of amnesia.

  Non-drug effects include normalization of metabolism - a collective and broad concept that includes adherence to a diet, normalization of the daily routine, refusal bad habits, eating food rich in amino acids and B vitamins, etc.

  Patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease and lung diseases, it is necessary to constantly monitor the condition and treat the underlying diseases, as they are triggers for impaired cognitive functions.

  Use of folk remedies

  Elderly people like to use natural herbal remedies for treatment. It must be remembered that the effect of them does not appear immediately, herbal therapy is delayed for many months, or even years, but the result will certainly be from it, the main thing is patience.

  Treatment folk remedies includes the use of drugs that have a general strengthening effect on the body and normalize metabolic processes in the nervous tissue. Widely known group herbal remedies- adaptogens, increase the body's defenses, give strength, improve memory, attention and normalize mood. Ginseng root, lemongrass, eleutherococcus, rowan fruits, and herb are plants used to treat cognitive impairment.

  You can restore memory using medicines from ginkgo biloba. They have gained wide popularity in the treatment of memory and thinking disorders and are used in both folk and official medicine.

  Pharmacological drugs

  There are no drugs that would completely eliminate the symptoms; there are only groups of drugs that stop the progression of the disease:

  • Nootropics (piracetam, cinnarizine, Phezam) are a nutrient substrate for the nerve cell, improve metabolic processes and improve the formation of associative connections. Widely used to treat senile dementia, Alzheimer's disease and various types amnesia.
  • Metabolic agents (Actovegin, Gliatilin, pentoxifylline) - nourish nervous tissue and are used in patients with post-stroke conditions, after transient ischemic attacks, thus preventing cognitive disorders.
  • NMDA receptor blockers (memantine) are the most a new group, used for severe cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. The drugs have proven effectiveness and significantly improve the quality of life of patients with senile amnesia.

  Prevention

  There is no specific prevention, there are only general recommendations for management healthy image life. Giving up bad habits, maintaining proper nutrition, daily walks and exercise physical culture strengthen human health and make the body resistant to external influences.

  By following these well-known rules, everyone can live an active old age without chronic diseases and memory impairment. You need to think about your health when you are young; this is the only way to reduce the overall morbidity rate and increase your life expectancy.

  By taking care of your health and treating existing chronic diseases, you can easily prevent illness and preserve the brightness of your mind and memory until old age.

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Memory is an important function of our central nervous system to perceive received information and store it in some invisible “cells” of the brain in reserve, in order to retrieve and use it in the future. Memory is one of the most important abilities of a person’s mental activity, therefore the slightest memory impairment weighs on him, he is knocked out of the usual rhythm of life, suffering himself and irritating those around him.

Memory impairment is most often perceived as one of many clinical manifestations of some neuropsychic or neurological pathology, although in other cases forgetfulness, absent-mindedness and bad memory are the only signs of a disease, the development of which no one pays attention to, believing that a person is like this by nature.

The big mystery is human memory

Memory is a complex process that occurs in the central nervous system and involves the perception, accumulation, retention and reproduction of information received in different periods information time. We think most about the properties of our memory when we need to learn something new. The result of all efforts made during the learning process depends on how someone manages to catch, hold, and perceive what they see, hear or read, which is important when choosing a profession. From a biological point of view, memory can be short-term and long-term.

Information received in passing or, as they say, “it went into one ear and out of the other” is short-term memory, in which what is seen and heard is postponed for several minutes, but, as a rule, without meaning or content. So, the episode flashed and disappeared. Short-term memory does not promise anything in advance, which is probably good, because otherwise a person would have to store all the information that he does not need at all.

However, with certain efforts by a person, information that has fallen into the zone of short-term memory, if you hold your gaze on it or listen and delve into it, will go into long-term storage. This also happens against a person’s will if certain episodes are often repeated, have special emotional significance, or for various reasons occupy a separate place among other phenomena.

When assessing their memory, some people claim that their memory is short-term, because everything is remembered, assimilated, retold in a couple of days, and then just as quickly forgotten. This often happens when preparing for exams, when information is put aside only for the purpose of reproducing it to decorate the grade book. It should be noted that in such cases, turning again to this topic when it becomes interesting, a person can easily restore seemingly lost knowledge. It’s one thing to know and forget, and another thing to not receive information. But here everything is simple - acquired knowledge without special effort humans were transformed into long-term memory departments.

Long-term memory analyzes everything, structures it, creates volume and purposefully stores it for future use indefinitely. Everything is stored in long-term memory. Memorization mechanisms are very complex, but we are so accustomed to them that we perceive them as natural and simple things. However, we note that for the successful implementation of the learning process, in addition to memory, it is important to have attention, that is, to be able to concentrate on the necessary objects.

It is common for a person to forget past events after some time if he does not periodically retrieve his knowledge in order to use it, so the inability to remember something should not always be attributed to a memory impairment. Each of us has experienced the feeling when “it’s spinning in your head, but doesn’t come to mind,” but this does not mean that serious disturbances have occurred in memory.

Why do memory lapses happen?

The causes of memory and attention impairment in adults and children may be different. If a child with congenital mental retardation immediately has problems with learning, then he will come to adulthood with these disorders. Children and adults can react differently to the environment: the child’s psyche is more delicate, so it endures stress more difficult. In addition, adults have long learned what a child is still trying to master.

As sad as it may be, the trend towards the use of alcoholic beverages and drugs by teenagers, and even young children left without parental supervision, has become frightening: cases of poisoning are not so rarely recorded in reports from law enforcement agencies and medical institutions. But for a child’s brain, alcohol is a powerful poison that has an extremely negative effect on memory.

True, some pathological conditions that are often the cause of absent-mindedness and poor memory in adults are usually excluded in children (Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis, osteochondrosis).

Causes of memory impairment in children

Thus, the causes of memory and attention impairment in children can be considered:

• Lack of vitamins;
• Asthenia;
• Frequent viral infections;
• Traumatic brain injuries;
• Stressful situations (dysfunctional family, despotism of parents, problems in the team that the child attends);
• Poor eyesight;
• Mental disorder;
• Poisoning, alcohol and drug use;
• Congenital pathology in which mental retardation is programmed (Down syndrome, etc.) or other (any) conditions (lack of vitamins or microelements, the use of certain medications, changes not in better side metabolic processes), contributing to the formation of attention deficit disorder, which, as is known, does not improve memory.

Causes of problems in adults

In adults, the reason for poor memory, absent-mindedness and inability to concentrate for a long time are various diseases acquired during life:

1. Stress, psycho-emotional stress, chronic fatigue of both soul and body;
2. Acute and chronic;
3. Discirculatory;
4. cervical spine;
5. Traumatic brain injuries;
6. Metabolic disorders;
7. Hormonal imbalance;
8. GM tumors;
9. Mental disorders (depression, schizophrenia and many others).

Of course, anemia of various origins, lack of microelements, diabetes mellitus and other numerous somatic pathologies lead to impaired memory and attention, and contribute to the appearance of forgetfulness and absent-mindedness.

What types of memory disorders are there? Among them are dysmnesia(hypermnesia, hypomnesia, amnesia) – changes in memory itself, and paramnesia– distortion of memories, to which are added the patient’s personal fantasies. By the way, others around them, on the contrary, consider some of them to be a phenomenal memory rather than a violation of it. True, experts may have a slightly different opinion on this matter.

Dysmnesia

Phenomenal memory or mental disorder?

Hypermnesia– with such a violation, people remember and perceive quickly, information put aside many years ago pops up in memory for no reason, “rolls up”, returns to the past, which does not always evoke positive emotions. A person himself does not know why he needs to store everything in his head, but he can reproduce some long-past events down to the smallest detail. For example, an elderly person can easily describe in detail (down to the teacher’s clothes) individual lessons at school, retell the literary montage of a pioneer gathering, and it is not difficult for him to remember other details regarding his studies at the institute, professional activity or family events.

Hypermnesia, present in healthy person in the absence of other clinical manifestations, it is not considered a disease; rather, on the contrary, this is exactly the case when they talk about phenomenal memory, although from the point of view of psychology, phenomenal memory is a slightly different phenomenon. People who have a similar phenomenon are able to remember and reproduce huge amounts of information that is not associated with any special meaning. These can be large numbers, sets of individual words, lists of objects, notes. Great writers, musicians, mathematicians and people in other professions that require genius abilities often have such a memory. Meanwhile, hypermnesia in a healthy person who does not belong to the cohort of geniuses, but has a high intelligence quotient (IQ), is not such a rare occurrence.

As one of the symptoms of pathological conditions, memory impairment in the form of hypermnesia occurs:

• For paroxysmal mental disorders (epilepsy);
• In case of intoxication with psychoactive substances (psychotropic drugs, narcotic drugs);
• In the case of hypomania - a condition similar to mania, but not reaching it in severity. Patients may experience increased energy, increased vitality, and increased ability to work. With hypomania, memory and attention impairments are often combined (disinhibition, instability, inability to concentrate).

Obviously, only a specialist can understand such subtleties and differentiate between normal and pathological conditions. The majority of us are average representatives of the human population, to whom “nothing human is alien,” but at the same time they do not change the world. Periodically (not every year and not every locality) geniuses appear, they are not always immediately noticeable, because often such individuals are considered simply eccentrics. And finally (maybe not often?) among various pathological conditions there are mental illnesses that require correction and complex treatment.

Bad memory

Hypomnesia– this type is usually expressed in two words: “poor memory.”

Forgetfulness, absent-mindedness and poor memory are observed in asthenic syndrome, which, in addition to memory problems, is characterized by other symptoms:

1. Increased fatigue.
2. Nervousness, irritability with or without cause, bad mood.
3. Meteor dependence.
4. during the day and insomnia at night.
5. Changes in blood pressure.
6. Tides and others.
7. , weakness.

Asthenic syndrome, as a rule, is formed by another pathology, for example:

• Arterial hypertension.
• Previous traumatic brain injury (TBI).
• Atherosclerotic process.
• The initial stage of schizophrenia.

The cause of memory and attention impairments of the hypomnesia type can be various depressive states (there are too many to count), menopausal syndrome occurring with adaptation disorder, organic brain damage (severe head injury, epilepsy, tumors). In such situations, as a rule, in addition to hypomnesia, the symptoms listed above are also present.

“I remember here, I don’t remember here”

At amnesia It is not the entire memory that is lost, but individual fragments of it. As an example of this type of amnesia, I would like to recall the film by Alexander Sery “Gentlemen of Fortune” - “I remember here, I don’t remember here.”

However, not all amnesia looks like in the famous movie; there are more serious cases when memory is lost significantly and for a long time or forever, therefore among such memory disorders (amnesia) there are several types:

A special type of memory loss that cannot be controlled is progressive amnesia, representing a sequential loss of memory from the present to the past. The cause of memory destruction in such cases is organic atrophy of the brain, which occurs when Alzheimer's disease And . Such patients poorly reproduce traces of memory (speech disorders), for example, they forget the names of household objects that they use every day (a plate, a chair, a clock), but at the same time they know what they are for (amnestic aphasia). In other cases, the patient simply does not recognize the thing (sensory aphasia) or does not know what it is for (semantic aphasia). However, one should not confuse the habits of “zealous” owners to find a use for everything that is in the house, even if it is intended for completely different purposes (from an old kitchen clock in the form of a plate, you can make a beautiful dish or stand).

You have to invent something like this!

Paramnesia (memory distortion) are also classified as memory disorders, and among them the following types are distinguished:

• Confabulation, in which fragments of one’s own memory disappear, and their place is taken by stories invented by the patient and presented to him “in all seriousness,” since he himself believes in what he is talking about. Patients talk about their exploits, unprecedented achievements in life and work, and even sometimes about crimes.
• Pseudo-reminiscence- replacement of one memory with another event that actually took place in the patient’s life, only at a completely different time and under different circumstances (Korsakov’s syndrome).
• Cryptomnesia when patients, having received information from various sources (books, movies, stories of other people), pass it off as events they themselves experienced. In a word, patients, due to pathological changes, engage in involuntary plagiarism, which is characteristic of delusional ideas encountered in organic disorders.
• Echomnesia- a person feels (quite sincerely) that this event has already happened to him (or saw it in a dream?). Of course, similar thoughts sometimes visit a healthy person, but the difference is that patients attach special significance to such phenomena (“get hung up”), while healthy people simply quickly forget about it.
• Polympsest– this symptom exists in two versions: short-term memory loss associated with pathological alcohol intoxication (episodes from the past day are confused with long-past events), and the combination of two different events of the same period of time, in the end, the patient himself does not know what happened In fact.

As a rule, these symptoms in pathological conditions are accompanied by other clinical manifestations, therefore, if you notice signs of “déjà vu”, there is no need to rush to make a diagnosis - this also happens in healthy people.

Decreased concentration affects memory

Impaired memory and attention, loss of the ability to focus on specific objects include the following pathological conditions:

1. Attention instability– a person is constantly distracted, jumps from one object to another (disinhibition syndrome in children, hypomania, hebephrenia - a mental disorder that develops as a form of schizophrenia in adolescence);
2. Rigidity (slow switching) from one topic to another - this symptom is very characteristic of epilepsy (those who communicate with such people know that the patient is constantly “stuck”, which makes it difficult to conduct a dialogue);
3. Lack of concentration- they say about such people: “That absent-minded person from Basseynaya Street!” That is, absent-mindedness and poor memory in such cases are often perceived as features of temperament and behavior, which, in principle, often corresponds to reality.

Undoubtedly a decrease in concentration, in particular, will negatively affect the entire process of memorizing and storing information, that is, on the state of memory as a whole.

Children forget faster

As for children, all these gross, permanent memory impairments, characteristic of adults and especially the elderly, are very rarely noted in childhood. Memory problems that arise due to congenital characteristics require correction and, with a skillful approach (as far as possible), may recede a little. There are many cases where the efforts of parents and teachers literally worked wonders for Down syndrome and other types of congenital mental retardation, but here the approach is individual and dependent on various circumstances.

It’s another matter if the baby was born healthy, and the problems appeared as a result of the troubles suffered. So here it is You can expect a child to have a slightly different reaction to different situations:

• Amnesia in children in most cases, it manifests itself as memory lapses in relation to individual memories of episodes that took place during the period of clouding of consciousness associated with unpleasant events (poisoning, coma, trauma) - it is not for nothing that they say that children quickly forget;
• Alcoholization adolescence also does not proceed the same way as in adults - lack of memories ( polympsests) to events occurring during intoxication, appears already in the first stages of drunkenness, without waiting for a diagnosis (alcoholism);
• Retrograde amnesia in children, as a rule, it affects a short period of time before injury or illness, and its severity is not as distinct as in adults, that is, memory loss in a child cannot always be noticed.

Most often, children and adolescents experience memory impairment of the dysmnesia type, which is manifested by a weakening of the ability to remember, store (retention) and reproduce (reproduction) received information. This type of disorder is more noticeable in children school age, since they affect school performance, adaptation in a team and behavior in everyday life.

For children attending nurseries preschool institutions, symptoms of dysmnesia are problems with memorizing rhymes and songs, children cannot participate in children's matinees and holidays. Despite the fact that kindergarten The baby visits constantly, every time he comes there, he cannot independently find his locker to change clothes; among other items (toys, clothes, a towel) he has difficulty finding his own. Dysmnestic disorders are also noticeable in the home environment: the child cannot tell what happened in the garden, forgets the names of other children, each time he perceives fairy tales read many times as if he was hearing them for the first time, does not remember the names of the main characters.

Transient impairments of memory and attention, along with fatigue, drowsiness and all sorts of autonomic disorders, are often observed in schoolchildren with various etiologies.

Before treatment

Before you begin to treat the symptoms of memory impairment, you need to make a correct diagnosis and find out what is causing the patient's problems. To do this you need to get: more information about his health:

1. What diseases does he suffer from? It may be possible to trace the connection between the existing pathology (or suffered in the past) with the deterioration of intellectual abilities;
2. Does he have a pathology that directly leads to memory impairment: dementia, cerebral vascular insufficiency, TBI (history), chronic alcoholism, drug disorders?
3. What medications is the patient taking and is memory impairment associated with the use of medications? Individual groups pharmaceuticals, for example, benzodiazepines include side effects have similar types of violations, which, however, are reversible.

In addition, during the diagnostic search, it can be very useful to identify metabolic disorders, hormonal imbalance, deficiency of microelements and vitamins.

In most cases, when searching for the causes of memory loss, they resort to methods neuroimaging(CT, MRI, EEG, PET, etc.), which help to detect a brain tumor or hydrocephalus and, at the same time, differentiate vascular brain damage from degenerative one.

There is a need for neuroimaging methods also because memory impairment at first may be the only symptom of a serious pathology. Unfortunately, the greatest difficulties in diagnosis are presented by depressive conditions, which in other cases force one to prescribe a trial antidepressant treatment (to find out whether there is depression or not).

Treatment and correction

The normal aging process itself involves some decline in intellectual abilities: forgetfulness appears, memorization is not so easy, concentration of attention decreases, especially if the neck is “pinched” or the blood pressure rises, but such symptoms do not significantly affect the quality of life and behavior at home. Older people who adequately assess their age learn to remind themselves (and quickly remember) about current affairs.

In addition, many people do not neglect treatment with pharmaceuticals to improve memory.

There are now a number of drugs that can improve brain function and even help with tasks that require significant intellectual effort. First of all, this is (piracetam, fezam, vinpocetine, cerebrolysin, cinnarizine, etc.).

Nootropics are indicated for older people who have certain age-related problems that are not yet noticeable to others. Drugs in this group are suitable for improving memory in cases of cerebrovascular accident caused by other pathological conditions brain and vascular system. By the way, many of these drugs are successfully used in pediatric practice.

However, nootropics are a symptomatic treatment, and to get the desired effect you need to strive for etiotropic treatment.

As for Alzheimer's disease, tumors, and mental disorders, the approach to treatment should be very specific - depending on the pathological changes and the reasons that led to them. There is no single recipe for all cases, so there is nothing to advise patients. You just need to contact a doctor, who, perhaps, before prescribing drugs to improve memory, will send you for additional examination.

Correction of mental disorders is also difficult in adults. Patients with poor memory, under the supervision of an instructor, memorize poems, solve crossword puzzles, and practice solving logical problems, however, training, while bringing some success (the severity of mnestic disorders seems to have decreased), still does not give particularly significant results.

Correction of memory and attention in children, in addition to treatment with various groups of pharmaceutical drugs, includes classes with a psychologist, exercises for memory development (poems, drawings, tasks). Of course, the child’s psyche is more mobile and better amenable to correction, unlike the adult psyche. Children have the prospect of progressive development, while older people only experience the opposite effect.

Video: bad memory - expert opinion

In the human brain there are many impulses that move quickly, so about a trillion processes are processed per second. Such processes affect the ability to remember information. Therefore, memory loss is often recorded in older people. How to treat such a disorder? Below is detailed information about this.

Let's list the main ones: visual, auditory, verbal-logical, emotional (many moments against the background of emotions and experiences can be remembered for a long time), individual moments in thinking are passed on to other generations, motor, muscular as a result of prolonged physical activity, causing deformation of the cellular structure.

Why does memory deteriorate?

The human brain is complex in design and functionality. Memory function deteriorates for the following reasons:

• Skull injuries.
• Oncological diseases with tumors located in different brain structures.
• Infectious disorders.
• Failures in heart rate and heart rhythms.
• Metabolic problems.

• Stressful situations, poor sleep.
• Consumption of harmful foods.
• Age, memory loss, which causes problems to appear more often in older people.
• Lack of vitamins in the body as a result of their lack of entry into the nervous system in the required volume.
• Smoking, alcohol, use of psychotropic drugs, heavy metals.
• Exposure to harmful environmental conditions negatively affects brain function.

What affects memory?

Patients' memory is affected by many different external factors, aggravating or stabilizing the condition. Memory problems are caused by factors that negatively affect brain structures. Significant information can be forgotten quickly and for a long time. It is necessary to determine the reasons why such processes occur. Factors that negatively affect memory are identified.

Memory problems vary in nature. Psychological and even gynecological disorders can cause problems. For example, girls for a reason hormonal changes thyroid dysfunction begins.

Internal disorders affect the ability to remember: prolonged stay in a tense state, difficult life situations, after which problems cannot be avoided. Depressive state causes a lot of problems. Regular negative thoughts in the head always affect the nervous system. According to experts, depression is a disorder that requires treatment. Otherwise, the memory may be lost forever.

Types of memory impairment

Amnesia refers to partial or complete memory loss in older people. The disorder is caused by various factors. When developing in old age, senile dementia appears in combination with disturbances of attention and thinking.

The deterioration of cognitive processes entails a long-term deterioration in people’s quality of life. Memory lapses gradually worsen. In the first stages, fragmentary memory loss for certain events occurs.

Patients forget: what they ate today, whether they turned off the iron, whether the front door to the living room was closed. Memory for earlier events gradually deteriorates; after some time, old people no longer recognize those around them.

Short-term amnesia

This is a mild form of pathology; at first, slight memory impairment appears, but this is often regarded as a normal condition. The person does not remember what happened recently, last month. After some time, patients begin to remember what they had forgotten.

When it continues for more than a day, you need to contact specialists for therapy; memory problems and stress may arise. After eliminating these factors, memory returns to normal. Patients become frightened and confused. Timely treatment allows you to restrain the development of symptoms and maintain a healthy mind for a long time.

Sudden memory loss

A certain type of disorder manifests itself quickly and interferes with the performance of ordinary household work. Often, older citizens forget why they left the house, turn around and head in the other direction. Such processes are caused by increased psycho-emotional stress and pathologies.

With age, the symptoms become more complex and become life-threatening. Amnesia constantly takes you by surprise, it can confuse and even frighten, it manages to cause stress and complicate the disease.

Sudden amnesia

The most complex type of disorder without reliable data regarding its development or prognosis. Patients cannot remember anything normal from life; they forget everything, even their own name. They do not know their home address and have no information about their relatives.

It is difficult to determine the identity of a person if he does not have the necessary documentation. Senior citizens are constantly lost and may walk around the neighborhood for a long time. When their condition returns to normal, they forget what happened to them during the attack of sudden amnesia.

Who is more likely to have disorders?

In patients over 60 years of age, mild memory problems are considered normal as a result of aging. Typical memory problems were recorded in 47 elderly patients. Experts predict that this number will increase to 73 million.

Alzheimer's disease is considered main reason memory loss in older people around the world. In Russia, the main provoking factor is vascular disease.

In order for information to be retained in memory, the human brain creates connections between neurons of different durations. The nature of the associative connection determines how long a person will be a patient of this or that event. Neural connections are destroyed as pathologies develop, information that until recently was understood is lost.

The cause of senile amnesia is problems with the blood vessels of the brain. This often occurs due to damage by atherosclerosis. Strokes and ischemic attacks cause memory problems, thinking disorders, speech and attention defects.

Individual factors include infectious processes that affect the nervous system, poisoning with neurotropic components occurs, and chronic processes develop, which are accompanied by hypoxia. Nerve tissues must be provided with oxygen; its lack causes acidification and metabolic disorders.

Who should I contact?

Memory problems may indicate mental and neurological disorders; when such a problem arises, you first need to go to a psychiatrist and neurologist.

Eliminating memory loss in older citizens begins with identifying the causes of the pathology. Through laboratory analysis, disorders of the nervous system that provoke memory problems are determined. The following methods are used for this: biochemical analysis, toxicological testing, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, EEG, brain examination, blood vessel analysis.

Therapy is determined by the factors that provoke the disorder. Amnesia occurs after a specific event. After receiving a skull injury, a specialist prescribes drugs that stimulate metabolic processes in nerve tissues. Most recommended drugs: nootropics, diuretics, absorbents. If amnesia occurs as a result of dementia, neurotropic drugs are used.

• You need to try to have a dialogue more often, try to defend some point of view, solve puzzles, read more books. Regular viewing of TV shows stimulates memory, provokes disruption and deterioration of brain function.
• You need to monitor your cholesterol level, constantly monitor it, this way you can prevent the occurrence of this problem; in older citizens, memory will quickly deteriorate.

• You need to consume more food and drinks with antioxidants to eliminate or reduce the development of pathology and memory problems.
• It will be possible to stimulate memory function if you constantly consume Gingko biloba 40 mg at lunch. Memory problems can be prevented by using herbal infusions.
• Thanks to osteopathy, it will be possible to stimulate blood flow to the brain, strengthen memory and attention.
• When elderly relatives have problems with attention and the ability to remember information, you need to contact a psychologist.

Drug treatment

Eliminating the problem of memory loss in elderly patients is difficult. Qualified help involves the use of drugs that stimulate brain blood circulation and metabolic processes, as well as drugs that increase the concentration of oxygen in brain cells. Patients are advised to take B vitamins and neuroprotective medications.

To use them, they practice the destruction of neurons, a positive effect on brain function, and a general improvement in the quality of life. The list of medications for memory loss for older people is prescribed: nootropics, vascular agents, memory-improving medications.

Methods of therapy are determined by the type and nature of the severity of the pathology, various signs and causative factors. The main goal of therapy with medications that improve memory in the elderly is to prevent the condition from worsening. Positive result can be achieved with course use under the supervision of specialists. The timing of treatment determines the chances of success.

ethnoscience

The work of the psyche is largely determined by the deterioration of tone, which can be stabilized in old age by general restoratives. Traditional medicine is used for the same purpose:

• Regular consumption of 100 g of pumpkin juice.
• You need to consume young pine buds for a month, about 4 pieces per day.
• A decoction of dried rowan bark.
• Clover tincture is taken for 2 months.
• The composition with the addition of onion juice and honey should be eaten for 3 months.
• Ginkgo bilboa can be brewed and drunk as tea.

It should be taken into account that pharmacies have herbal-based medicines made from the same material. Before using each product, you should consult a specialist to identify possible contraindications.

Prevention

There are no special methods for memory impairment; only general advice on management is distinguished. suitable image life for better health. You need to avoid bad habits, eat normally, walk every day, play sports, and help strengthen the body.

To stabilize metabolism when memory deteriorates in old people, you need to eat less fatty and fried foods. Not only for preventive purposes, but also for dietary purposes, it is necessary to adjust the diet to stimulate brain activity: carrots with raisins, walnuts, seaweed, fermented milk foods, seeds, bananas.

You need to take care of your health from a young age, control cholesterol levels, treat chronic pathologies, read more, and engage in intellectual work.

Human memory is still a completely unexplored phenomenon, which can periodically fail both in young and older people. Memory is an important factor in human activity, connecting three time dimensions (past, present and future). It is necessary for human development in childhood and for normal life in adulthood and old age.

Unforeseen situations can arise at any age, but memory loss in older people is quite common.

Relatives no longer pay attention to this fact, although this can lead to significant deviations in the activities of the elderly person. When should you sound the alarm? Is it possible to improve the function of remembering past events? What are the consequences? early development memory loss.

Memory loss: concept and types

Memory is divided into the following processes - memorization, storage, reproduction and forgetting. But not everything is “subject to” forgetting. For example, actions for your own maintenance should not be forgotten, but here you can highlight the safety of personal information.

And if there are no predisposing factors for worry, this is not yet a reason not to pay attention to the forgetfulness of an elderly loved one. After all, as a rule, everything starts small - at first a person begins to forget the events that happened a couple of days ago, and with age he cannot remember his own name.

The concept of memory loss in medicine is called amnesia. There are several types of amnesia, where two groups are conventionally distinguished - complete and partial. Partial amnesia is a completely normal phenomenon for humans, since it is characterized by partial loss of memories. Complete amnesia is the loss of all memories. Although complete amnesia is difficult, it is treatable. But before we begin to study the main points of therapy, we should look at the common types of amnesia.

Short-term memory loss

Short-term memory loss in old people is a common phenomenon. The presented phenomenon is characterized by the loss of fresh, vivid memories, but for a short time. So, a person can forget what happened yesterday or last year. This lasts for several minutes, but can last for a whole day.

Short-term amnesia can be caused by head injuries, infectious diseases, medications, and even the desire to lose weight through dieting and fasting. In older people, short-term amnesia often develops while taking medications.

Doctors call this phenomenon “senile forgetfulness,” which can be cured by taking special medications, proper nutrition, and other recommendations to improve brain activity. If measures are not taken in time, short-term amnesia will give way to complete amnesia.

Severe amnesia

Acute memory loss is similar to short-term memory loss. This phenomenon is manifested by the fact that an elderly person experiences a sharp deviation from the intended goal and plan. For example, an elderly person goes to the kitchen to get water, but on the way he forgets the purpose of his visit.

Such failures often occur in young people, which is explained by impaired brain activity - decreased blood pressure and other factors that reduce blood circulation in the brain, and, consequently, nutrition. A short-term attack occurs - something like a stroke for a split second - causing previous activities to suffer.

Sudden rise from a sitting position and other actions can cause severe amnesia. As for older people, such inattention will only worsen in old age, so measures should be taken immediately - drugs are often prescribed to improve the vascular activity of the body.

Sudden amnesia

Sudden amnesia is considered the most dangerous for human life - a striking example is the loss of old people who leave home for a nearby store and cannot remember the way back. Such amnesia is still not amenable to study, since it can occur not only in older people, but also in young people.

People who experience sudden amnesia cannot remember anything from their past. They also cannot give their name or residential address.

The danger of the disease lies in the fact that it is almost impossible to name the root causes of sudden amnesia. Yes, there are cases where such memory loss is a consequence of a head injury (which could also be the case in at a young age) or a previous infection, but to a greater extent it is impossible to identify the root causes - only a small part of patients are found by relatives, which makes it difficult to study the patient’s past. It is also difficult to formulate preventive actions for sudden failures.

Whatever type of amnesia haunts an elderly person, relatives and others habitually call any memory loss senile sclerosis. What is presented is true, but only partially, since senile sclerosis is characterized by pathological changes in the functioning of the brain, which can cause more serious disorders.

What is senile sclerosis?

Senile sclerosis is the death of brain cells associated with the development of atherosclerosis (a chronic disease of the arteries caused by disorders of lipid and protein metabolism). Cell death is caused by the accumulation of cholesterol plaques in the vessels, which disrupts the blood supply and prevents the brain from receiving nutrients and oxygen. The death of brain cells can occur at a young age, but older people suffer from such vascular disorders much more often. Why?

In addition to the main one, the following reasons contribute to the development of senile sclerosis:

Senile sclerosis causes the development of diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (complete memory impairment) and senile degeneration of the brain (loss of intellectual skills). Despite this factor, sclerosis is treatable - unlike other types of amnesia. This is what makes senile sclerosis and other types of amnesia various pathologies.

Causes

Having understood the main types of memory loss in older people, you should list the reasons for their development - this will help young people prevent problems in themselves. Reasons include:

Surprisingly, the development of memory loss of any kind can even be influenced by the lack of attention and excessive brooding caused by labor activity or other factors. Young people should carefully analyze their lifestyle and eliminate prerequisite factors. As for older people, they themselves and their loved ones should pay attention to the treatment of pathologies that lead to the development of memory impairment.

Important: general absent-mindedness and memory impairment can be aggravated by poisoning, infectious diseases, injuries or blows to the head, and impaired metabolism.

Symptoms of amnesia

Symptoms of amnesia are characteristic manifestations of forgetfulness - short-term or permanent. But before the obvious manifestations, there are also the following symptoms:

The presented symptoms can appear as early as 40-45 years of age. If this happens, then timely and special treatment should be taken. Elderly people must undergo treatment without fail, regardless of the symptoms that appear.

Diagnostics

Before starting treatment, you should visit a specialist and undergo an appropriate examination to determine the nature of amnesia - this will give a complete picture for prescribing a recovery regimen. Diagnostic measures include:

Based on the results obtained, the doctor will prescribe appropriate treatment. It is strictly forbidden to resort to self-medication - taking some medications can aggravate the situation and provoke a heart attack and stroke.

Treatment of amnesia

As mentioned above, there is no exact treatment for any type of amnesia. But there are ways to prevent and partially, and sometimes completely, restore the memory of an elderly person and improve brain function. It will not be easy for the patient’s relatives, as they will have to resort to complex therapy.

Drug treatment

To the number drug treatment include taking the following medications:

There are other names of drugs that differ in their contraindications and side effects.

That is why it is impossible to take up self-medication - only a doctor can, after studying all the dangerous aspects of the patient’s health, prescribe a suitable medication.

Psychotherapy

Often, to treat older people, it is necessary to resort to psychotherapy - sessions with psychologists, speech pathologists and other specialists who help normalize the functioning of the brain system. Often, specialists limit themselves to solving riddles and puzzles, memorizing poetry, and using board games.

It is especially important here to highlight hypnosuggestive therapy, which is used for senile degeneration of the brain. In this case, hypnosis helps an elderly person remember important events - childhood, the birth of children, the death of parents and other moments.

Daily routine and load

Elderly people with memory disorders are not recommended to be placed in special medical institutions - this will only worsen the situation. Old man should be in a familiar and calm environment under the regular supervision of relatives. It is important to ensure the following:

Loads for an elderly person should be optimal - the patient should not be overloaded, as this can only provoke a worsening of the condition. The exact intensity of the exercises will be prescribed by the doctor after the examination.

Diet food

The elderly should be provided proper nutrition– with exception large quantity fatty, fried, fast food. The diet of a person with signs of amnesia should include first courses, hot second courses with the addition of meat, poultry or fish, vegetables and fruits. The following foods also help improve brain activity:

Meals should be freshly prepared and taken three times a day. In addition, there should be 2-3 snacks of fruits or vegetables, dairy products.

Patient Nadezhda B., 48 years old. I went to the doctor with complaints about constant absent-mindedness and forgetfulness - this affects the conduct of everyday affairs and communication with loved ones - the woman simply forgets about important events.

An examination was ordered, the results of which revealed a decrease in brain impulses. Based on the test results, treatment was prescribed - taking Trental, Actovegin and Glycine. Regular walks and memorization of poems are recommended.

The article describes in detail what memory loss is in older people and how to treat the problem presented. We should not forget about the development of problems at a young age, so you should resort to prevention now - solving crosswords, detailed retelling of films and books, memorizing poems, complex toasts, jokes - all this is an excellent therapy for improving brain activity and improving memory.