Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Topic Page:
Memory
View All Memory Health Alerts • View All Memory Special Reports
Memory loss can range from age-related impairment (a normal degree of forgetfulness) to several types of dementia (a loss of intellectual abilities, including memory, judgment, and abstract thinking).
Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, affects approximately 5.3 million Americans and is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, by the year 2030 as many as 7.7 million Americans will be living with Alzheimer’s disease if no effective prevention strategy or cure is found. By 2050 the number is projected to skyrocket to between 11 million and 16 million. Ten million baby boomers are expected to develop the disease.
Although Alzheimer’s disease is irreversible, memory impairment associated with other conditions, such as depression or thyroid problems, may be correctable. Recent research advances leading to improved treatments for Alzheimer’s disease offer reassuring news on that front as well.
How Johns Hopkins can help. If you or someone you care about has Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia, obtaining accurate information is an important part of the treatment plan. Johns Hopkins Medicine is ideally positioned to provide you with timely, authoritative information and advice on treating and living with dementia. Johns Hopkins is ranked No. 1 in Neurology by U.S. News and World Report's annual Rankings of American hospitals.
- At Johns Hopkins Health Alerts, Peter V. Rabins, M.D., M.P.H., acclaimed author and geriatric psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins—and one of the nation’s leading experts on the care and management of patients with Alzheimer’s disease—discusses the prevention, diagnosis, and management of memory problems.
- Dr. Rabins and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins explain the difference between the normal memory lapses that occur with age and the signs of a more serious memory deficit. They bring you the latest knowledge about how to boost your memory and how to reduce your risk of conditions that can interfere with it. They also review the diagnosis and current treatments of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, including mild cognitive impairment, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. In addition, they discuss caregiving and end of life decisions.
- You’ll read articles on: engaging the dementia patient, when it’s time to stop driving, coping with Alzheimer’s symptoms, stress reduction, how the brain stores memory, new research, and much more.
For more information on Memory please visit the BOOKSTORE .
