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Loss of memory is a common symptom, particular in the elderly. Memory loss may also be associated with concentration symptoms. Many people fear a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease but many other possibilities exist, including simply the normal deterioration of memory function with aging. Other possibilities include the side effects of various medications and other medical conditions such as depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, certain brain conditions (e.g. stroke or brain tumors) and various types of dementia. Any memory-related symptoms need prompt professional medical advice to determine the correct diagnosis....more »
» Review Causes of Forgetfulness: full list
The following medical conditions are some of the possible
causes of Forgetfulness.
There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor
about your symptoms.
See full list of 337 causes of Forgetfulness
» Review Causes of Forgetfulness: full list
Home medical tests possibly related to Forgetfulness:
Review the causes of these more specific types of Forgetfulness:
Review causes of types of Forgetfulness in more specific categories:
Review causes of more specific types of Forgetfulness:
See full list of 35 types for Forgetfulness
Listed below are some combinations of symptoms associated with Forgetfulness, as listed in our database. Visit the Symptom Checker, to add and remove symptoms and research your condition.
See full list of 4537 Symptom Checker combinations related to Forgetfulness
Review further information on Forgetfulness Treatments.
People with early-stage Alzheimer's disease know that they will have trouble remembering things. But there are a variety of techniques that can...
Alzheimer's disease is a common, but often misunderstood condition. Forgetfulness is just one small symptom of a larger, more complicated disease...
The father of television personality Linda Dano experienced years of mental deterioration before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Hear...
Allen Willner was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease early in the disease process. With medication and the care of his wife, he's slowing the...
Real-life user stories relating to Forgetfulness:
Symptom specific forums: The following patient stories in our interactive forums and message boards relate to Forgetfulness or relevant symptoms:
Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Forgetfulness. Some of these are listed below :
See full list of 25
diagnostic tests for Forgetfulness
More Forgetfulness animations & videos
The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible
causes of Forgetfulness as a symptom.
Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using,
including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.
See full list of 20
medications causing Forgetfulness
When combined, certain drugs, medications, substances or toxins may react causing Forgetfulness as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.
See full list of 1 drug interactions causing Forgetfulness
Some of the comorbid or associated medical symptoms for Forgetfulness may include these symptoms:
All associated co-morbid symptoms for Forgetfulness
Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:
Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Forgetfulness:
During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in their assessment of Forgetfulness. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor about your symptoms may help them with their diagnosis. Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:
Why: to determine if acute or chronic. If acute in nature must consider delirium as possible cause of confusion. Delirium is an acute confusional state due to many causes e.g. infection, drug intoxication, alcohol withdrawal, liver failure, kidney failure, hypoxia, low blood sugar, stroke, heart attack or head injury.
Why: e.g. tiredness, pregnancy, being a new mother, general anxiety, grieving.
Why: memory and concentration ability does gradually reduce with age. Age- associated memory impairment (AAMI) is the normal forgetfulness of aging.
Why: e.g. if symptoms are worse in the late afternoon and at night delirium ( acute confusional state) is most likely.
Why: patients with cerebral arteriosclerosis e.g. stroke; depression or AIDS notice their confusion whereas patients with Alzheimer's disease are unaware of their confusion.
See Diagnosis Checklist for Forgetfulness (18 listings)
Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. The symptoms your doctor may ask about (in association with Forgetfulness) may include:
Why: e.g. impaired memory, impaired judgement and thinking, impaired verbal fluency and impaired ability to perform complex tasks. Personality may change, impulse control may be lost and personal care deteriorates.
Why: Depression may exhibit many of the features of an early dementia, especially memory impairment, slowed thinking and lack of spontaneity.
Why: can suggest any infection that may cause delirium or meningitis, encephalitis, brain abscess or brain hemorrhage.
Why: e.g. limb weakness or paralysis, facial muscle weakness or paralysis, difficulty with speech and swallow.
Why: may suggest migraine, brain cancer or acute stroke.
See Diagnosis Checklist for Forgetfulness (18 listings)
Simple hearing loss can be misdiagnosed: Elderly patients can be misdiagnosed owing to symptoms of paranoia, when the underlying cause is really simple hearing loss. Due to...read more »
Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness...read more »
Alzheimer's disease over-diagnosed: The well-known disease of Alzheimer's disease is often over-diagnosed. Patients tend to assume that any memory loss...read more »
Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for a patient to show mental decline to dementia. Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions, such as a ...read more »
Tremor need not be Parkinson's disease: There is the tendency to believe that any tremor symptom, or shakiness, means Parkinson's disease. The reality is that there are...read more »
Mild traumatic brain injury often remains undiagnosed: Although the symptoms of severe brain injury are hard to miss, it is less clear for milder injuries, or even those causing a...read more »
ADHD under-diagnosed in adults: Although the over-diagnoses of ADHD in children is a well-known controversy, the reverse side related to adults. Some adults can remain undiagnosed, and indeed the condition has usually been overlooked...read more »
MTBI misdiagnosed as balance problem: When a person has symptoms such as vertigo or dizziness, a diagnosis of brain injury may go overlooked. This is particularly true of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), for which the...read more »
Rare diseases misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease: A rare genetic disorder is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease for men in their 50's. The disease Fragile X disorder can show only mild...read more »
Bipolar disorder misdiagosed as various conditions by primary physicians: Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder) often fails to be diagnosed...read more »
Eating disorders under-diagnosed in men: The typical patient with an eating disorder is female. The result is that men with eating disorders often fail to be diagnosed or have a delayed diagnosis. See misdiagnosis of eating...read more »
Depression undiagnosed in teenagers: Serious bouts of depression can be undiagnosed in teenagers. The "normal" moodiness of teenagers can cause severe medical depression to be overlooked. See misdiagnosis of depression or symptoms of depression....read more »
Brain pressure condition often misdiagnosed as dementia: A condition that results from an excessive pressure of CSF within the brain is often...read more »
Post-concussive brain injury often misdiagnosed: A study found that soldiers who had suffered a concussive injury in battle often were misdiagnosed on their return. A variety of symptoms can occur in post-concussion syndrome...read more »
Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients. These patients are not the typical migraine sufferers, but migraines can also occur in children. See misdiagnosis of migraine...read more »
Undiagnosed anxiety disorders related to depression: Patients with depression (see symptoms of depression) may also have undiagnosed anxiety disorders (see symptoms of anxiety disorders). Failure to diagnose these anxiety disorders may worsen the...read more »
Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see symptoms of multiple sclerosis). See symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency or misdiagnosis of...read more »
Read more about Misdiagnosis and Forgetfulness
Medical news articles related to Forgetfulness include:
Source: HealthDay News
Medical Books Excerpts Read excertps from published book sections related to Forgetfulness from the following published medical books for more detailed information about Forgetfulness. Free access (no registration): read all online diagnostic book sections about Forgetfulness
Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.
Other ways to find a doctor, or use doctor, physician and specialist online research services:
Research extensive quality ratings and patient safety measures for hospitals, clinics and medical facilities in health specialties related to Forgetfulness:
Research Hospital & Clinic Quality Ratings » »
Rare types of medical conditions and diseases in related medical categories:
Products, offers and promotion categories available related to Forgetfulness:
Conditions that are commonly undiagnosed in related areas may include:
A lot of people experience memory lapses. Some memory problems are serious, and others are not. People who have serious changes in their memory, personality, and behavior may suffer from a form of brain disease called dementia. Dementia seriously affects a person's ability to carry out daily activities. Alzheimer's disease is one of many types of dementia. (Source: excerpt from Forgetfulness It's Not Always What You Think - Age Page - Health Information: NIA)
The list below shows some of the causes of Forgetfulness mentioned in various sources:
See full list of 337 causes of Forgetfulness
This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases, not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Forgetfulness. Of the 337 causes of Forgetfulness that we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:
See the analysis of the prevalence of 337 causes of Forgetfulness
The following list of conditions have 'Forgetfulness' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.
The following list of conditions have 'Forgetfulness' or similar listed as a complication in our database. The distinction between a symptom and complication is not always clear, and conditions mentioning this symptom as a complication may also be relevant. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.
Ask or answer a question about symptoms or diseases at one of our free interactive user forums.
Medical story forums: If you have a medical story then we want to hear it.
See a list of all the medical forums
This information shows analysis of the list of causes of Forgetfulness based
on whether certain risk factors apply to the patient:
Depending on the seriousness of the onset of Forgetfulness, you may want to consult one of the following medical professionals.
Important:In extreme cases, always seek advice from emergency services :
Subtypes of Forgetfulness:
Memory disturbances (2 causes), Temporary memory loss (1 cause), Amnesia (11 causes), Loss of memory (7 causes), Poor memory (6 causes), Short-term memory loss (6 causes), Memory loss (95 causes)
Medical Conditions associated with Forgetfulness:
Memory symptoms (471 causes), Cognitive symptoms (3439 causes), Neurological symptoms (9194 causes), Behavioral symptoms (4319 causes), Brain symptoms (2165 causes), Mental problems (2866 causes), Nerve symptoms (8848 causes), Personality symptoms (3718 causes), Head symptoms (9526 causes)
Symptoms related to Forgetfulness:
Concentration symptoms (280 causes), Alzheimer's disease (1 cause), Parkinson's disease, Depression (376 causes), Depressive disorders, Dementia (196 causes), Delirium (105 causes), Emotional problems (1816 causes)
Doctor-patient articles related to symptoms and diagnosis:
These general medical articles may be of interest:
See full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis
Our news pages contain the following medical news summaries about Forgetfulness and many other medical conditions:
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