Memory Loss May Predict Alzheimer's Disease

A study being reported in the September 12, 2006, issue of Neurology, finds that adults over the age of 60 who complain of severe memory problems may actually be losing brain tissue. Despite scoring well on standard memory tests, the adults in the study who complained of significant memory loss were found to have loss of grey matter of about 3% on MRI brain scans. Patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (early Alzheimer's ) show about 4% loss of brain tissue in the same areas of the brain - the areas where memory is stored.