Prospective memory is the ability to remember something you want to do in the future, for instance, making an appointment, or taking medication.
The study from the University of New Mexico, published in Neurology, indicates that people who carry the high-risk e-4 allele on both of their ApoE genes are eight times more likely to develop Alzheimer's as non-carriers. The study also found that people who carry the high-risk allele on only one ApoE gene are three times more likely to develop Alzheimer's than non-carriers.
Researchers looked at 32 healthy adults between the ages of 60 and 87, who did not appear to have symptoms of dementia. Dementia may be diagnosed when two or more brain functions are impaired. These functions include language, memory, visual-spatial perception, emotional behavior or personality, and cognitive skills (such as calculation, abstract thinking, or judgment). Dementia usually appears first as forgetfulness. Other symptoms may be apparent only with neurologic examination or cognitive testing. More on dementia
Half of the subjects carried the e-4 allele, and half did not. Subjects were asked to do a prospective memory test that required remembering to write a specific word when they saw a target word.
The e-4 carriers forgot to write down the specific word much more often than non-carriers, which means that the study subjects had prospective memory loss and did not remember to do what they intended to do. Researchers said these findings contradict the current thinking that the e-4 allele has only subtle, often undetectable effects on a carrier's ability to remember.
One researcher said that while the study subjects appeared to be healthy, there was a possibility that some of the carrier subjects were in the early, undetected stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
The study results encourage doctors to include testing prospective memory as a tool for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease. The study also suggests that it could be beneficial for even healthy e-4 carriers to work on improving their prospective memory.
This new information makes an even more compelling case for improving your memory. The more we learn about memory loss, the more we learn that memory can be retained and even improved if you're willing to make the effort. The old adage, "Use it or lose it" is certainly true when it comes to memory.
For tips on improving memory, see Keep Your Mind Sharp.
