• Question: Is there any way that memory loos can be cured?

    Asked by anon-188135 to Paul, Nadine on 13 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Paul Matusz

      Paul Matusz answered on 13 Nov 2018:

      Hi,

      That’s a great question. The short answer is – it depends. If we talk about amnesia – that happens when you have some sort of brain injury and an area involved in one type of memory (there are a few , look here – http://thepeakperformancecenter.com/educational-learning/learning/memory/types-of-memory/) stops functioning well. The amnesia is very distressing for the patients. The treatment here typically focuses on re-learning how to speak, with a speech therapist, for people with weak to medium memory loss. As amnesia often occurs after stroke, we also work on reducing bleeding or blod clots in the brain, to improve the speech and memory (so making that brain area work well again!).
      When we talk about full blown dementia that happens only after 60, there are several interesting avnues for treatments but no currently we dont have effective cures for dementia. Have a look at the new treatments:
      https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/cure/

    • Photo: Nadine Mirza

      Nadine Mirza answered on 15 Nov 2018:

      Hi Unknown (how mysterious)!
      Like Paul said, it totally depends on the nature of the memory loss.
      For something like dementia, cures are actively being sought out, with big research charity Alzheimer’s Research UK hoping to have a life saving treatment ready by 2025.
      Current possibilities for a cure are targeting different things:
      a) 21 of the 22 genes responsible for Alzheimer’s disease have been identified and scientists are trying to figure out how to correct the errors in these genes so that they can’t be passed down.
      b) Scientists are looking into how to promote and speed up brain cell degeneration at a rate faster than the degeneration that occurs in dementia.
      c) Dementia can sometimes cause protein plaques to build up that prevents brain cells from communicating and scientists are trying to see how to stop this from happening by investigating what triggers the plaques in the first place.
      d) In certain dementias, memory loss can occur because blood is not reaching the brain. This can happen because clogs and clots often seen in those with diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. So in a sense, treating these problems could be the solution to stopping this kind of dementia.

      I hope this answers your question (at least partly)!

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