When to Be concerned?

by Pat
(Merrimack, NH, USA)

Am I Losing My Marbles Due To Aging and Disease?

I would like to know at what point to be concerned about memory loss, and whether it is related to secondary aging.

I am 55 and have noticed I forget words or take much longer than I used to retrieve information I know is somewhere in my mental filing cabinet.

Beyond myself, I live with an 81-year-old family member. Her memory seems stronger some days than others, and sometimes she simply cannot follow the logic of something, either.

Then this mental state will clear up and she will be absolutely crystal clear again. I am especially uncertain with respect to my family member. She also has hearing loss in spite of hearing aids.

I sometimes think it isn’t that she has forgotten something – it is that she never heard it in the first place.

We both also have slight thyroid deficiencies, and we have medication for this but when it is out of adjustment our memories seem less effective.

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Dec 06, 2009
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When To Be Concerned About Memory Loss
by: George Parigian Jr.

Hi Pat,

People experience memory loss at different ages, but at age 55, significant memory loss is something to be concerned about.

If you both have thyroid deficiencies then it would seem logical to me that this is the reason you are both experiencing memory loss.

Since I am not a doctor, I would suggest that you see a physician that specializes in something called ?functional medicine.?

This is an approach to health care that involves attempting to determine the root cause of health problems and address this, rather than treating symptoms using drugs.

I don?t really want to guess at what is causing this but there could be a number of factors responsible. Stress can do it, and also nutritional deficiencies can set the stage for accelerating some aspects of aging.

Again, an antiaging doctor would be the person to address these issues, because part of antiaging as a medical discipline is halting and reversing memory loss.

Bioidentical hormone therapy might be helpful in this instance, but again that is for the antiaging physician to determine.

There is a genetic flaw that many people have which causes them to improperly ?methylate? b-vitamins. This can lead to high Homocysteine levels, which in turn increase chances of heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer?s disease.

It might be a good idea to check for the presence of this gene, called (HTMFR) geneotype, and if found use a supplement called a ?methyl donor? to inactivate it.

The simple test for this gene is the presence of a strong odor after eating asparagus. You can go and be medically screened for the gene if you wish, but it IS important to be tested for high Homocysteine levels and work to get those levels down.

C-reactive protein is an inflammatory marker that is also very important for monitoring inflammation levels in the body. Have this checked as well and if it is high, take steps to reduce the level.

These two makers (Homocysteine and c-reactive protein) are more important markers for heart disease than cholesterol. So by all means get them checked.

If you write to me directly via my website, I will try to direct you toward an antiaging doctor in your area, or one as close to you as possible.

Good Luck and Good Health,

George

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