Aging Myths: Reversible Causes of Mind and Memory Loss

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Memory loss often has a reversible cause and is not necessarily part of growing old: this is the principal message of this comprehensive review of aging by a professor at the Yale University School of Medicine and author of Is Surgery Necessary? Claiming that senility and dementia are often neither permanent nor irreversible, Kra attributes them in large part to environmental factors, chronic depression and, most frequently, to improper medication. Citing case histories, he describes forms of dementia caused by medical conditions, e.g., hypertension, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular, kidney and lung ailments, along with chronic infections such as meningitis and AIDS. Alcohol abuse, he reminds us, may cause serious mental impairment, as may head injuries and tumors. On an encouraging note, Kra adds that unless we are afflicted with disease, a regimen of constructive activity, proper exercise and food should maintain emotional and intellectual health. February 10

Library Journal

The recent publicity about Alzheimer's disease may be relegating many elderly people to a needless senile existence due to the missed diagnosis of their real illness. As a cardiologist and assistant clinical professor at Yale University School of Medicine, Dr. Kra has treated many patients whose senility was reversed through treatment of an underlying problem. He stresses the need for good nutrition, proper medication, and thorough medical examinations for the supposedly senile patient. He urges those who care for the elderly to look for every possible cause for brain failure, not merely accept it as a result of aging. Recommended for most health collections. Robert Schmid, Univ. of Health Sciences/Chicago Medical Sch. LRC, North Chicago