Degenerative Neurological Diseases as Memory Loss Causes: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s

There are numerous diseases, disorders, and injuries that are known to be memory loss causes. Memory loss can be related to aging, can be an effect of disease processes, or can result from injuries to certain areas of the brain.

Three diseases that involve the deterioration of the brain and can cause memory loss include:

·         Alzheimer’s disease

·         Parkinson’s disease

·         Huntington’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease and Memory Loss

Alzheimer’s disease is unfortunately common among older people. It is a progressive, degenerative disease best known for causing dementia. It also causes pronounced short-term and long-term memory loss. As the disease progresses, afflicted persons often lose more and more of their memory.

One of the most common early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease is short-term memory loss. People with incipient Alzheimer’s may begin to show difficulty learning new facts and remembering recently learned information. There is also sometimes impairment of semantic memory, which is subtler; a person with early Alzheimer’s may lose memories involving meanings and relationships between concepts.

In the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s, short-term memory is most strongly affected. Episodic memory, the memory of events in the person’s life, is less strongly affected, as is procedural memory, their memory of how to perform learned tasks.

As Alzheimer’s progresses to the moderate level of the disease, deficits in long-term memory may begin to manifest. The person may even fail to recognize close family members. Individuals over a certain age who are beginning to experience problems with short-term memory may want to be evaluated for Alzheimer’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease and Memory Loss

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system; it involves the death of cells that generate dopamine, an important neurotransmitter, in a region of the midbrain called the substantia nigra. The most obvious and well-known symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are its motor symptoms, including shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement, and difficulty walking; however, it is also among the diseases that cause memory loss.

Cognitive disturbances, such as difficulties with memory and executive function, can occur in the initial stages of Parkinson’s disease, and become more severe as the disease progresses. In terms of memory loss, Parkinson’s is most likely to impair the ability to recall learned information. There may also be difficulties with working memory; for example, people with Parkinson’s disease may find themselves having increased difficulty holding multiple items in their short-term memory simultaneously.

Huntington’s disease and Memory Loss

Huntington’s disease is a degenerative neurological disorder with a genetic basis. It is more likely to occur in women, and often manifests itself in the 30s or 40s. During the progression of Huntington’s disease, deficits in memory and cognition begin to appear. Memory loss in Huntington’s disease can vary in nature and intensity and can include:

·         Short-term memory loss

·         Difficulties with long-term memory, including loss of episodic memory

·         Loss of procedural memory

·         Deficits in working memory

Causes of memory loss include a number of progressive, degenerative disease processes, which affect regions of the brain responsible for different types of memory. These diseases include Alzheimer’s disease, which is a tragically common cause of progressive memory deterioration in older adults, and Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease, which are two other neurodegenerative diseases that can cause memory loss.