時差N小時:可逆性癡呆 Reversible Dementia

Dementia is a scary word. So is senile. Both wordsconjure up images of being helpless in old age, oflosing your memories. Of losing yourself. And theworst thing about losing your mind is that once it'sgone, it's gone. You're never the same. Except whenthat's not the case.

癡呆癥是個令人害怕的詞。衰老也一樣。這兩個詞呈現(xiàn)給人們的是一幅老來無助，精神錯亂，迷失自我的畫面。精神錯亂最糟糕的地方在于，一旦記憶褪去，就永遠(yuǎn)消失了。你就再也不是以前的你了。除非另有隱情。

In recent years, doctors and scientists have seenmore and more cases where memory loss isn't just a natural consequence of aging.Sometimes it's caused by other things, like medication. The wrong combination of medicinecan cause confusion and forgetfulness. So can doses that are too high or too low.

近年來，醫(yī)生和科學(xué)家們遇到的越來越多的案例顯示失憶并不只是人類老化的自然結(jié)果。有些時候是由于其它原因造成，例如藥物作用。錯誤的藥物結(jié)合療法會導(dǎo)致記憶混亂，使人健忘。藥物劑量過高或者過低也會造成影響。

And stress is also a factor. Being stressed out can shrink the hippocampus--a part of the brainthat helps form and hold onto memories. So how do you know if an elderly parent is sufferingfrom dementia, or if it's a problem with meds or stress?

此外，壓力也是一方面的因素。長期的壓力也能縮小海馬體的尺寸。海馬體是大腦內(nèi)負(fù)責(zé)形成和掌握記憶的部分。但你怎么知道上了年紀(jì)的父母到底是患上了老年癡呆癥，還是因為藥物或者壓力導(dǎo)致了失憶?

First, find out what medication they're taking and learn about possible side effects. And try tofind out what's going on in their lives that might be stressful. And, of course, talk with theirdoctor to see about trying a new medication or changing doses. Because the good news is that ifmedicine or stress is to blame for memory problems, making a change could solve theproblem and help your parent be themselves again.

首先要找到他們服用的藥物，盡量了解其副作用。然后試圖弄清楚他們生活中承受了什么壓力。當(dāng)然，也要通過與醫(yī)生的談話了解父母有沒有服用新藥，或者有沒有更改藥劑。令人欣喜的消息是，如果記憶問題歸咎于藥物或壓力，那么稍作改變就能解決問題，讓父母重新找到自己。