Across families and clinics, a familiar reassurance keeps arriving with a quiet cost: the belief that a parent's forgetfulness is simply what age does. A neurologist at KIMS-Arete in Hyderabad, Dr Suresh Babu P, suggests that the line between ordinary ageing and something needing attention lies less in any single lapse than in a shift from the person's own past way of living. Repetition, faltering routines, disorientation on known paths, struggles with words, and changes in gait each carry meaning when they accumulate, and many of their causes, from low mood to deficiencies to poor sleep, can
Not Just Getting Old: Seven Memory, Behaviour and Movement Changes That Warrant a Neurologist's Review
Losing independence should not simply be accepted as part of ageing.
Mark
Why does the doctor push back on the phrase "it's just age"?
Mimi
Because he hears it so often in clinic, and it can end the conversation before anyone looks for a cause. Dementia isn't a normal part of ageing, he says.
Mark
The piece lists memory, but also getting lost, language and movement. Why spread it so wide?
Mimi
Memory isn't the only thing to watch. A parent who can't manage bills they handled for years, or can't find the way home from a familiar place, is showing something that isn't about forgetting a name.
Luke
Worth saying clearly: none of these signs alone proves dementia. The article says so itself.
Mimi
Right. Depression, medication side effects, vitamin deficiencies and sleep problems can look similar, and some are treatable.
Mark
So what's the practical takeaway for a family?
Mimi
Ask whether this is different from how the person used to function, rather than whether it's normal for their age.
Luke
That test is useful, but it's a judgement call. The piece gives no thresholds, no timeframes, no numbers for how often is too often.
Mimi
True. It stresses pattern and progression instead of a single incident.
Luke
And it's one neurologist's guidance, not a study. It tells you when to ask for an assessment, not what the assessment will find.
Mark
Who tends to notice first?
Mimi
Family members, often before the person does, especially with word-finding trouble.
Der Puls
- A familiar sentence, 'it's only because of age,' keeps delaying the moment families seek help.
- A parent asks the same question again and again, and a household routine that held for years begins to slip.
- A wrong turn on a familiar road or a lost word in conversation quietly signals that something may be shifting in the brain.
- Doctors urge families to compare each change against the person's own past, not against age-based expectations, and to seek assessment when the change keeps moving.
- Many treatable causes, including depression, medication effects, vitamin gaps and sleep trouble, must be ruled out before the picture becomes clear.
Across families and clinics, a familiar reassurance keeps arriving with a quiet cost: the belief that a parent's forgetfulness is simply what age does. A neurologist at KIMS-Arete in Hyderabad, Dr Suresh Babu P, suggests that the line between ordinary ageing and something needing attention lies less in any single lapse than in a shift from the person's own past way of living. Repetition, faltering routines, disorientation on known paths, struggles with words, and changes in gait each carry meaning when they accumulate, and many of their causes, from low mood to deficiencies to poor sleep, can be addressed. The wiser question, he suggests, is not whether a change is normal for a given age, but whether it is new for this particular person.
In neurology clinics, Dr Suresh Babu P, who heads the neurology department at KIMS-Arete Hospital, hears the same sentence repeatedly from worried families: these things have started only because of age. He says that sentence is often where a delay begins. Dementia is not a normal part of ageing, and memory is only one thing worth watching.
He describes several signs that go beyond ordinary slowing. Asking the same question several times after already receiving the answer is different from a single forgotten detail. A parent who has managed bills, appliances or cooking for years may suddenly struggle, which is a reason to investigate. Getting lost on a familiar route, or being unable to find the way home, points to something beyond age. Regularly losing words, the thread of a conversation, or the ability to express a simple thought is worth raising, and family members often notice it first. A newly unsteady walk or repeated falls also deserve attention, especially when thinking has changed too.
He is careful to say that no single sign proves dementia. Depression, medication side effects, vitamin deficiencies and sleep problems can produce similar symptoms, and some of them are treatable. His advice is to change the question from whether something is normal for this age to whether it is different from how this person used to function. If the change is real and keeps progressing, a medical assessment is worth pursuing. Growing older is inevitable, he says, but losing independence should not simply be accepted as part of it.
In neurology clinics, Dr Suresh Babu P hears one sentence again and again: "Doctor, these things have started only because of age." He heads the neurology department at KIMS-Arete Hospital, and he says the sentence is often where a delay begins. His point is plain. Dementia is not a normal part of ageing, and memory is not the only thing families should be watching.
Getting older does bring some changes: slower recall, the occasional lapse, a little more difficulty learning something new. The question, as the neurologist frames it, is where a normal change ends and one that begins to affect how a person lives begins.
The first sign he describes is repetition. Forgetting something once is ordinary. Asking the same question several times in a short span, after already being given the answer, is different. Difficulty holding on to recently learned information can be an early marker of cognitive decline, and the pattern matters more than any single incident.
The second is a loss of command over routine. A parent who has run the household bills, appliances or cooking for years may suddenly struggle with them. Familiar tasks may take much longer or require help. That does not automatically mean dementia, Dr Suresh Babu says, but it is a reason to find out what has changed.
Third is getting lost. Taking a wrong turn somewhere unfamiliar can happen to anyone. Being unable to find the way home from a familiar place, or losing a route travelled for years, can point to a problem with orientation or other brain functions, and should not simply be blamed on age.
Language is the fourth. Occasionally forgetting a word is common. Regularly struggling to find words, losing the thread of a conversation or being unable to express a simple thought clearly is worth raising with a doctor. These changes can be subtle at first, and family members often notice them before the person does.
The fifth concerns movement. A newly unsteady walk, repeated falls or a clear change in how someone moves should not automatically be labelled an age-related problem. "If memory or thinking has changed as well, a neurological cause needs to be considered," he explains. The combination of movement and thinking changes can be particularly important in an assessment.
He is careful about what none of this proves. No one of these signs, alone, means a person has dementia. Depression, medication side effects, vitamin deficiencies, sleep problems and other medical conditions can all affect memory and thinking, and some of those causes may be treatable.
His suggested test is a change of question. Not "Is this normal at this age?" but "Is this different from how this person used to function?" If the answer is yes, especially if the change keeps progressing, a medical assessment is worth considering. Growing older is inevitable, he says; losing independence should not simply be accepted as part of it.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The most useful question is not whether this is normal at this age, but whether it is different from how this person used to function.— Dr Suresh Babu P, KIMS-Arete Hospital
If memory or thinking has changed as well, a neurological cause needs to be considered.— Dr Suresh Babu P, KIMS-Arete Hospital
Möchten Sie die ganze Geschichte?
Das Original lesen bei Times of India ↗
Health & Medicine