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Allopathic treatment

The method of treatment for memory loss depends on underlying causes:

• Age. The elderly can be taught simple techniques to remember things better such as repeating a person's name several times, using word association, or jotting things down in a notebook.
• Depression. Depressed patients often show enhanced memory function after they are successfully treated for depression.
• CNS infections. Patients need to be given effective antimicrobial treatment immediately to save them from death, significant brain damage, and profound memory loss.
• Trauma. Patients' memories usually return as they recover from the accident or injury. In some causes hypnosis is useful in helping patients retrieve traumatic memories without being overwhelmed by them.
• Alzheimer's disease (AD). Such medications as tacrine or donepezil can improve memory and cognitive functions in AD patients.

Expected results

A patient's prognosis depends on the underlying causes of his or her memory loss. Partial or complete recovery can be expected when the memory loss results from treatable causes such as depression or nutritional deficiencies. However, patients with such degenerative nerve conditions as Alzheimer's disease are expected to have a slow, irreversible decline of both memory and cognitive function. Medical treatment with memory-enhancing medications and long-term care are often required. As of 2003, there are no effective treatments for memory loss related to Down's syndrome.

Prevention

Although there is no realistic way to prevent memory loss due to sudden trauma, there are things a person can do to decrease or slow down age-related memory loss. Keeping the mind active by continually learning new things is an important strategy in this regard. By eating healthy and nutritious foods, taking nutritional supplements and antioxidants, reducing stresses at home and at work, and avoiding environmental toxins, one can slow or even prevent memory loss.

BOOKS

Goetz, Christopher G., and Eric J. Pappert, eds. Textbook of Clinical Neurology. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 2000.

Halpern, Georges. Ginkgo: A Practical Guide. Garden City Park, N.Y.: Avery Publishing, 1998.

"Memory and Cognition Problems." In Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide. Compiled by The Burton Goldberg Group. Tiburon, Calif.: Future Medicine Publishing, 1999.

Mendez, Mario F., and Jeffrey L. Cummings. "Amnesia and Aphasia." In Cecil Textbook of Medicine. Edited by Lee Goldman and J. Claude Bennett. 21st ed. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 2000.

MoraMarco, Jacques. The Complete Ginseng Handbook: A Practical Guide for Energy, Health, and Longevity. Chicago: Contemporary Publishing, 1997.

Murray, Michael T., and Joseph Pizzorno, eds. "Alzheimer's Disease." In Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, 2nd edition revised. Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing, 1998.

Pelletier, Kenneth R., MD. The Best Alternative Medicine, Part II, "CAM Therapies for Specific Conditions: Alzheimer's Disease." New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002.

Shenk, David. The Forgetting: Alzheimer's: Portrait of an Epidemic. New York: Doubleday, 2001.

Yutsis, Pavel, and Lynda Toth. Why Can't I Remember?: Reversing Normal Memory Loss. Garden City Park, N.Y.: Avery Publishing, 1999.

Author Info: Mai Tran, Rebecca J. Frey PhD, The Gale Group Inc., Gale, Detroit, 2005