Age-Related Memory Loss is Not Normal

New research demonstrates that having a “senior moment” is far from normal aging.  To the contrary, milder memory loss is associated with the beginning stages of brain tangles that over the next decade can readily turn to Alzheimer’s.

The latest findings come from researchers at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center¹ in Chicago. 

“The very early mild cognitive changes once thought to be normal aging are really the first signs of progressive dementia, in particular Alzheimer’s disease.” said Robert S.Wilson, PhD, neuropsychologist at Rush University Medical Center. “The pathology in the brain related to Alzheimer’s and other dementias has a much greater impact on memory function in old age than we previously recognized.”

The study involved over 350 nuns, priests and brothers who participated in Rush’s Religious Orders Study and completed up to 13 years of annual cognitive testing. After death, the brains were examined for the lesions associated with dementia: neurofibrillary tangles, cerebral infarction (stroke), and Lewy bodies.
Researchers looked at the rate of change in cognitive function over time. The last four to five years of life showed a very rapid decline. The preceding years showed a much more gradual decline that would be described as normal aging.

As expected, pathologic lesions were related to the rapid decline, but researchers were somewhat surprised to find the pathology was very strongly predictive of the mild changes in cognitive function.  And very importantly, the lack of any lesions was associated with no cognitive decline.

This data demonstrates that any memory loss is associated with brain lesions and is not normal.  Turning on brain repair processes is a top priority for any person experiencing such problems – which includes nutrient strategies for boosting the formation of new brain cells as well as cleaning up existing gunk.