JUST MEMORY CONCERNS OR DEMENTIA ?
If you take care of someone with dementia you lose them more and more everyday.
When they get the diagnosis, when they go through different stages, when they need treatment and when they pass away.
This is called “ambiguous loss”.
As the brain slowly dies, they change physically and eventually forget who their loved ones are. They could end up lying in bed, not moving and not eating or drinking.
There will be people who will scroll past this post because Dementia has not touched them.
They may not know what it’s like to have a loved one who has battled or is still battling dementia.
To raise awareness of this cruel disease, please put this on your page today.
MEMORY CONCERNS are Common and Widespread
Several health issues can mimic early dementia.
For example, the treatable liver condition Hepatic Encephalopathy can cause memory problems that resemble dementia.
Other hidden medical conditions including anemia, vitamin B deficiencies, and Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH), a treatable buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, can lead to a false diagnosis of dementia.
And then there are dementia symptoms brought on by prescription drugs.
Memory slips and other cognitive problems could be normal brain aging.
Many young and mentally overworked adults commonly have difficulties finding the right word, entering rooms only to forget what they’d gone in for, and forgetting to buy something when out shopping.
A lack of a gold standard test for dementia means diagnosing the condition is no easy task when memory concerns are so common and so widespread. And now there’s another issue frequently mistaken for dementia…
DEMENTIA IS OFTEN MISDIAGNOSED
A large group of British researchers published a review paper called “Functional Cognitive Disorder: dementia’s blind spot.”
Commenting on their paper, first author Harriet Ball said: “Dysfunction of day-to-day thinking processes is a feature of FCD, but it is often misdiagnosed as early dementia.
While FCD involves impairment of thinking processes, unlike dementia, it is not expected to progress.
“Having clear diagnostic criteria for FCD will enable us to better characterize the condition and better explain it – and its prognosis – to patients and their families.
“Treatment up to now has focused on management of aspects that we know can help in general, for example
-cutting down medications that might be making things worse,
-and working on better sleep patterns; but in the future we’d like to test specific cognitive therapies which could prove much more successful.”
HERBS AND ESSENTIAL OILS FOR MEMORY?
In both Western and Asian herbal traditions, many herbs like Cinnamon, Licorice, Rosemary, Nutmeg, Peppermint, Bacopa, Lion’s Mane, Ginger, Spirulina, Neem and Skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis HuangQin) and even those delicious Strawberries are now recognised for their memory enhancing effects.
Also simply cooking your food with real Coconut oil, will nourish your brain…
Traditional Chinese, Ayurvedic and Thai medicine has documented the use of various Plant-Derived Nootropics (PDN) (substances that enhance cognitive performance), but which ones are supported by scientific studies conducted in humans and for what specific domains of cognition?
A systematic review involved a total of 256 human trials identified from six independent searches performed in parallel for each Neurocognitive domain (NCD).
The authors reported these findings:
1. Ginkgo biloba (aka Ginkgo) was the most prominent PDN, seemingly involved in all NCDs, with a defining role in perceptual-motor function improvement (6 studies).
2. Bacopa monnieri (aka Bacopa) was the second most prominent PDN with a defining role in language (3 studies) and learning and memory improvements (10 studies).
3. Withania somnifera (aka Ashwagandha) defined its role in improving social cognition (anxiety and stress; 7 studies).
4. Caffeine (especially Green Coffee Berry) was the prominent PDN for improvements in attention (4 studies) and executive function (4 studies).
All previously mentioned PDNs (Ginkgo, Bacopa, and Ashwagandha) also seemed to improve attention.
Natural Flavonoids appeared to play a small role in all NCDs except executive function, whereas Ginseng, Salvia, and Kava2 demonstrated some improvements in a few NCDs.
Despite its claims as an antidepressant and mood-stabilizing PDN, St. John’s Wort demonstrated negative effects on these NCDs.
Our Takeaway : If you or a loved one has any memory-related diagnosis, ensure you’re not dealing with Functional Cognitive Disorder instead. Talk to your healthcare team about FCD and any concerns you might have.
A special thank you to anyone willing to put this on their timeline for Dementia Awareness Week.
References
-Cristina Lorca, María Mulet, Catalina Arévalo-Caro, M Ángeles Sanchez, Ainhoa Perez, María Perrino, Anna Bach-Faig, Alicia Aguilar-Martínez, Elisabet Vilella, Xavier Gallart-Palau, Aida Serra Plant-derived nootropics and human cognition: A systematic review Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr.(2022 Jan 3)
This Study Summary was published on March 3, 2022.
-Cabreira V, et al. Clinical signs in functional cognitive disorders: A systematic review and diagnostic meta-analysis J Psychosom Res. 2023 Oct:173:111447
-Larner J. Functional Cognitive Disorders (FCD): How Is Metacognition Involved? Brain Sci. 2021 Aug 18;11(8):1082
FND Guide: Functional Cognitive Disorder Factsheet : 25th June 2020
-Ball HA, et al. Functional cognitive disorder: dementia’s blind spot Brain. 2020 Oct 1;143(10):2895-2903
University of Bristol: New diagnostic criteria shine light on early dementia mimics 17 August 2020
-Strawberies : Dietary intake of berries and flavonoids in relation to cognitive decline https:// pubmed. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/22535616/
https:// pubmed. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/31847371/
Dietary strawberry improves cognition
https:// pubmed. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/33468271/
Early Intervention in Cognitive Aging with Strawberry Supplementation https:// www. mdpi. com/2072-6643/15/20/4431
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