{"id":43687,"date":"2012-12-01T06:47:18","date_gmt":"2012-12-01T11:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=43687"},"modified":"2012-12-02T16:03:53","modified_gmt":"2012-12-02T21:03:53","slug":"memory-and-holiday-stress-advice-from-ucf-pegasus-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/memory-and-holiday-stress-advice-from-ucf-pegasus-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Memory And Holiday Stress: Advice From UCF Pegasus Health"},"content":{"rendered":"
This holiday season, you may be visiting <\/strong>aging family and friends you usually don\u2019t see. So how do you know if physical changes like memory loss are normal aging or something more serious?<\/p>\n Forgetfulness and aging often go hand-in-hand, and the holiday craze and other stressful circumstances\u00a0can make matters worse. \u00a0\u201cStressful situations and life-changing events have been linked to mild cognitive impairment,\u201d says Dr. Mariana Dangiolo, assistant professor of internal medicine at the UCF College of Medicine and a geriatric medicine specialist at UCF Pegasus Health, the college\u2019s physician practice. \u00a0\u201cUnfortunately, the fear of conditions like Alzheimer\u2019s disease prevents many people from discussing memory loss with their doctors.\u201d \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Understanding the\u00a0difference\u00a0between normal aging and more serious memory conditions is one step in reducing stress.<\/p>\n Dr. Dangiolo says slight memory loss as one ages can be expected, especially in certain conditions. She says approximately 60 percent of women undergoing perimenopause and menopause report difficulty remembering everyday information like names and phone numbers…or why they walked into a room. Other normal age-related memory loss can include sometimes forgetting names, but remembering them later; misplacing things from time to time like glasses and keys; sometimes having trouble finding the right word; and developing very specific ways of doing things and becoming irritable when routines are disrupted.<\/p>\n Common early signs of Alzheimer\u2019s are more severe and specific. They can include:<\/p>\n If you are experiencing symptoms of memory loss, don\u2019t automatically assume the worst. Approximately 15 percent of people will transition from having mild cognitive impairment \u2013 changes that are serious enough to be noticed by the patient and other people \u2013 to early stage Alzheimer\u2019s disease. However, according to Dr. Dangiolo, numerous drugs also have been shown to produce mild cognitive impairment and may create or aggravate Alzheimer’s-type symptoms.<\/p>\n Most of the drugs that cause mild cognitive impairment include a property called “anti-cholinergic.” These medications are used for relieving intestinal cramps or bladder irritability and are labeled “anti-spasmodic.\u201d\u00a0 There are 17 additional types of drugs used for many other purposes that also may have anti-cholinergic effects, such as antiemetics, antihistamines, acid blockers, antiparkinsonian drugs, antidepressants, muscle relaxants and antipsychotics.<\/p>\n To accurately diagnosis clinical memory loss, a neuropsychological evaluation is recommended. If you\u2019ve noticed a recent change in your memory, contact your doctor. He or she can evaluate your overall health to determine whether any medical conditions may be affecting your memory. While there are no \u201ccures\u201d for memory loss, doctors can help manage the symptoms and sometimes even slow the progression.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This holiday season, you may be visiting aging family and friends you usually don\u2019t see. So how do you know if physical changes like memory loss are normal aging or something more serious? Forgetfulness and aging often go hand-in-hand, and the holiday craze and other stressful circumstances\u00a0can make matters worse. \u00a0\u201cStressful situations and life-changing events have been linked to mild…","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":43689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[12,17],"tags":[2963,5752],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-43687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-medicine","tag-mariana-dangiolo","tag-ucf-pegasus-health"],"yoast_head":"\n