Memory Matters

Ann is a Registered Nurse with many years experience in Senior Care. Through her work, Ann recognized the need for a proactive, integrative approach to cognitive care. In 2009 She founded the Memory Matters practice in Ottawa, Ontario to fulfil that need.

WHAT IS DEMENTIA?
Dementia is a general term that describes a set of symptoms caused by diseases of the brain.
Health care providers must determine whether a change in an individual’s memory function is due to normal ageing or a memory disorder.
All dementia is not Alzheimer’s disease and some dementia symptoms can be reversed or mitigated. MEMORY DISORDER SYMPTOMS CAN INCLUDE:

• memory loss,
• poor judgment,
• difficulty communicating,
• and severe changes in mood and behaviour.

CAUSES OF MEMORY DISORDER INCLUDE:

• Diseases that cause degeneration or loss of nerve cells in the brain such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Lewy body disease and Pick’s disease.
• Diseases that affect blood vessels, such as stroke, which can cause a disorder known as multi-infarct dementia.
• Toxic reactions, like excessive alcohol or drug use.
• Nutritional deficiencies, like vitamin B12 and folate deficiency.
• Infections that affect the brain and spinal cord, such as AIDS dementia complex and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
• Certain types of hydrocephalus, an accumulation of fluid in the brain that can result from developmental abnormalities, infections, injury, or brain tumors.
• Head injury — either a single severe head injury or chronic smaller injuries that often occur from boxing.
• Illnesses other than in the brain, such as kidney, liver and lung diseases, can all lead to dementia.

RESOURCE LINKS:

• Alzheimer’s Canada
• Mayo Clinic – Deciphering Dementia

LOCATION: Memory Matters is located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K4A 0N2.