Some of the changes that are associated with getting old is memory loss, often called, age-related forgetfulness.
It ranges from mild to severe.
Recent studies have also shown that younger adults may also come down with memory loss.
However, for many people, progressive memory loss can be Dementia, a general term for the“ impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities”.
While the burden of dementia is still poorly understood in Nigeria, some findings suggest that the prevalence has increased over the years , with population-wide response to dementia still lacking.
Dr Veronica Nyamali, a Consultant Psychiatrist with the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital Yaba, spoke with Newsmen in Lagos on Thursday.
Nyamali described memory loss as unusual forgetfulness, while Dementia was a general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that were severe enough to interfere with daily life.
Nyamali, also the immediate past Vice-President, Association of Psychiatrists of Nigeria (APN), explained that Alzheimer was the most common type of dementia.
She recommended lifestyle adjustment as effective management therapy for memory loss.
According to her, lifestyle adjustments and modifications can help in the management of memory loss, saying that sedentary lifestyle involving lack of exercise and active activities should be avoided.
She added that excessive consumption of alcohol, unprescribed medication and fatty foods intake should also be discouraged.
Nyamali, who decried the effects of memory loss on mental health, said that prolonged memory loss can lead to depression, making the affected individual to be irrational in thinking/reasoning.
“Everyone forgets things at times. Some degree of memory loss, as well as a modest decline in other thinking skills, is a fairly common part of aging.
“There’s a difference, however, between typical memory changes and memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions.
“Before now, people used to think that dementia is only found among old people of 60 to 65 years and above, but recently, dementia is seen among younger age group of 40 to 45.
“And that’s why everybody needs to be well informed when it comes to memory loss.
“Hence, the need for people to generally take good care of their health. Eat balanced diet, engage in active activities and avoid sedentary lifestyles.
“Control your level of stress because anything mental health is related to stress; try as much as possible to avoid stress, have adequate rest and sleep as well as create time for relaxation and leisure.
“And if there’s a family history of any particular illness, it is important to know about that illness – how it manifested in your family members; the kind of medication they used and they responded to,” Nyamali said.
Contributing, a Senior Registrar in Psychiatry, Dr Samuel Aladejare, identified uncontrolled sugar level, hypertension, high cholesterol, depression, stress, illegal use of drugs, trauma and smoking as risk factors for memory loss irrespective of age.
He said there were two causes of memory loss; which could either be genetic or natural cause.
The expert said there were few cases in which the causative factor of the memory loss was treated and the normal thinking condition would be restored, stressing that in most cases, no medication cures memory loss.
“Some degrees of memory loss are natural; as people grow older, they are bound to develop memory loss and be forgetting things so easily, while other memory loss condition can be due to brain damage also known as dementia.
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“Unfortunately, normal aging forgetfulness has no cure. But there are medications that can help to slow down that degenerating process of forgetfulness.
“For instance, if it is seven years that a person is meant to lose all his/her memory and probably develop other health conditions that may lead to death, with the medication, the pace of developing the memory loss will be slowed down.
“And the person’s life will be further prolonged even with better quality of life.
“But in terms of medications that can totally stop/prevent memory loss, there are no such medication in existence for now, though depending on the cause too,” Aladejare said.
The Psychiatrist said that memory loss was more common among men than the women counterparts.
He, therefore, advised that anyone experiencing the condition of memory loss/forgetfulness should see a psychiatrist, who would detect whether the condition was as result of normal aging forgetfulness or as a result of dementia.
