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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Forgetfulness And Confusion At The Age Of 86?

I am very concerned about my 86 year old father. He seems perfectly fine one moment and then he will ask strange things. Example: Had an eye examination on Thursday and had the prescription filled today. He didn t remember having the eye exam on Thursday. He tends to get on one subject and obsesses until we complete the task.
Tue, 15 Mar 2016
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi,
Thanks for posting in HCM.
I understand your concern.
The symptoms which are describing related to your father at the age of 86 could be due to senile dementia. Such features happens to many at elderly age group due to loss or degeneration of neurons in brain, which would affect the normal functioning. Many dementias are progressive, meaning symptoms start out slowly and gradually get worse.
As Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of cases of dementia, it would be advisable to get it checked by consulting Neurologist and treated accordingly.
Hope the information provided would be helpful.
All the best.
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What Causes Forgetfulness And Confusion At The Age Of 86?

Hi, Thanks for posting in HCM. I understand your concern. The symptoms which are describing related to your father at the age of 86 could be due to senile dementia. Such features happens to many at elderly age group due to loss or degeneration of neurons in brain, which would affect the normal functioning. Many dementias are progressive, meaning symptoms start out slowly and gradually get worse. As Alzheimer s disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of cases of dementia, it would be advisable to get it checked by consulting Neurologist and treated accordingly. Hope the information provided would be helpful. All the best.