At first glance, ‘when memory is excessively dominant’ might seem good due to superior memory, but it is not. Patients with ‘hyperthymesia’, in which every moment of their lives are imprinted, experience confusion in the mixture of the past and reality, which is played every moment like a video.
However, such a population of patients is rare worldwide.
The familiar imbalance between memory and forgetting is ‘when forgetting is excessively dominant’.
Mild cognitive impairment and dementia are examples of ‘pathological memory loss’.
How is it different from forgetfulness?
The answer can be found in the Chinese character for forgetfulness (健忘症). The combination of ‘to be healthy (健)’ and ‘forgetful man (忘)’ suggests that there is a positive function in life. In other words, forgetting to live in moderation is beneficial to health.
Professor Kim Ji-eun of the Department of Neurology at Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital said, “It is like using the term forgetfulness when there is a brain disease, but forgetfulness is not viewed as a pathological cognitive decline. To put it simply, forgetfulness appears when the brain cannot rest due to reduced sleep time, mental stress, overwork, complicated mind or depression.”
In today’s flood of information, you can feel forgetful even if your brain is engulfed in excessive levels of external stimuli.
In such a situation, our brain sends a signal that the brain is tired, as if lowering a toad’s nest to cut off the power. In particular, when you feel that your forgetfulness has worsened at a young age, you should first look at whether your body and mind are in a comfortable state and whether you are in contact with digital media such as electronic devices for too long.
A pathological cognitive decline that must be distinguished from forgetfulness is mild cognitive impairment.
It is common for patients to visit the hospital after observing symptoms for more than several years without any problems in conducting daily life.
Professor Kim Ji-eun said, “The probability that normal people progress to dementia is only 1 to 2% per year, whereas patients with mild cognitive impairment have a high probability of progressing to dementia at 5 to 10%.”
Therefore, it is important to identify early whether the cognitive decline is at the level of forgetfulness or mild cognitive impairment.
Mild cognitive impairment is not the name of a specific disease.
It is an expression that encompasses ‘stages or conditions of cognitive decline’, not the names of individual diseases, such as gastritis and appendicitis that we are familiar with.
In other words, a condition in which a significant decline is observed on an objective cognitive function test when compared with the average value of the same age group with the same age and educational background, although it is still possible to lead an independent life, is called mild cognitive impairment.
Dementia is also not the name of a specific disease. It is a term that refers to a condition in which independent living becomes impossible due to cognitive decline.
Just as there are dozens of diseases that can cause dementia, there are dozens of diseases that can cause mild cognitive impairment.
Among them, Alzheimer’s disease, which accounts for the largest portion of dementia-related diseases, often shows a pattern of ‘amnesia-type mild cognitive impairment’ in an initial cognitive function test.
Carefully classifying the types of mild cognitive impairment is important for predicting future progression.
However, the brain is a very difficult biological organ to perform biopsy compared to other organs.
When cognitive decline comes from degenerative brain disease, it gradually changes over a long period of time, so it is often difficult to make a definitive diagnosis with only the first treatment.
Professor Kim Ji-eun said, “When various imaging tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electron emission tomography (PET-CT), accurate history taking, steady clinical progress identification, and detailed neuropsychological examination pattern analysis are performed in parallel, the We will be able to find the right milestones on the path of degradation,” he said.
Even in the case of asymptomatic patients, there are many cases in which brain nutritional supplements and brain function improving agents are taken in advance to prevent future dementia.
However, the biggest risk factor for mild cognitive impairment or dementia is age, so it is difficult to completely prevent it by taking a specific drug.
Professor Kim Ji-eun said, “A balanced diet, regular exercise, hobbies, and maintenance of social activities are sure to slow the brain degeneration process. However, despite these efforts, if you think you are on the path of imbalance between memory and forgetting, It is recommended that you receive an appropriate test through a meeting with the medical staff as early as possible.” By Jang Jong-ho, reporter bellho@sportschosun.com
