Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias

Everyone begins to experience age-related cognitive decline after age 40, and at least a third of us will develop dementia. We often see older adults and their families who have concerns about thinking and memory. Sometimes these memory impairments represent normal aging. Other times they connote what is referred to as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a term which implies circumscribed cognitive deficits, but which do not impair one’s day to day functioning. MCI elevates one’s risk for developing dementia, but can also describe a non-progressive condition.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of memory difficulties and dementia in older adults. There are a number of reasons why a patient may be experiencing memory problems. Some of these causes include other neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., frontotemporal dementia, posterior cortical atrophy, etc.), cerebrovascular problems, grief, mood or anxiety disorders, medication complications, substance abuse, and normal age-related changes. Some of the most common concerns we are asked to evaluate have to do with whether the patient is depressed or has a true memory deficit, what is responsible for the memory problem, and what the memory problem implies about future functioning. When a memory deficit is noted, we assess the severity, as well as any other areas of cognitive or psychiatric difficulty that may be present. This helps us make more accurate diagnoses about the cause(s) of the difficulty, as well as identify the appropriate steps for life planning and treatment.