Most Dementia is Treatable

Forgetfulness during later years is normal. But if memory loss becomes increasingly worse, a physician should evaluate the condition to rule out dementia as the underlying cause.

Dementia -- once known as senility -- is the generic term for severe memory loss and decline in reasoning. These symptoms may be due to having or having had multiple strokes, a vitamin B12 deficiency, an underactive thyroid, brain infections or tumors, long-term excessive alcohol intake, or Alzheimer's disease.

It's important to evaluate diseases early because that's when interventions are most helpful. Today, there are treatments for essentially all of the dementias. With the introduction of the drug tacrine, even Alzheimer's disease can be treated to some extent, says Jeffrey Cummings, M.D., director of the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Center and Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine.

All dementias affect memory, but co-existing symptoms differ among the various types. For example:

• Alzheimer's disease affects language but usually the motor system remains intact until much later in the disorder.
• B12 deficiency causes no language impairment.
• Vascular dementia due to multiple strokes produces motor impairment.