Experts from the CDINC of Barcelona indicate that if a person forgets the fact of having eaten or does not know which door to their house is, this could not be considered an anecdotal event.
MADRID, Nov. 22 (EDIZIONES).- Sleeping poorly, the stress o to anxiety can make the memory fail without disease. But if the forgetfulness is repetitive and affect basic routines, it is always advisable to act and consult with a expertas defended by neuropsychologist Saúl Martínez-Horta, who details in this article how the abnormal accumulation of amyloid and TAU proteins damages neurons, and why taking care of cardiovascular health can delay the onset of diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
This expert at the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau and director of the Neuropsychology Unit of the Center for Neurocognitive Diagnosis and Intervention (CDINC) of Barcelona explains to us in an interview with Europa Press Salud Infosalus that the fact that we have the impression that our memory is failing does not always mean that one is going to suffer from a neurodegenerative disease.
“There are many actors involved in shaping memory and some may have been damaged, but this does not have to mean that there is an illness behind it. There are many situations that can affect cognitive functions such as poor sleep, stress, or anxiety,” he points out.
When to suspect something that is not going well
Now, if there is already a recurring experience of memory loss, it is already something evident, for example within a family, it is thought that ‘something is happening there’, and the person constantly repeats and asks the same thing several times, as this expert specifies, or the person forgets day-to-day events, such as having eaten, if forgetfulness already arises in very common acts, such as knowing which is the entrance to our house, then we would have to ask ourselves if our memory is failing.
“In these cases we can no longer consider it as an anecdotal or trivial event, and we must go deeper to understand what can precipitate this happening, or even make it worse. These can also be applied to other aspects such as language or behavior,” he adds.
Why does neurodegeneration start?
Today, Martínez-Horta recognizes that the main mechanism by which the biological events that trigger neurodegeneration are set in motion is unknown, since not only genetics always plays a determining role.
It states that beta amyloid and TAU proteins are two natural proteins in the brain that, when functioning correctly, play essential roles; However, when altered they can become toxic to neurons, causing neurons to fail and ultimately die, and are at the center of many neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer’s.
“This sequence of accumulation of these proteins and their effects is currently being investigated in depth and that is why the therapeutic effort today is aimed at examining how the formation of these toxic residues can be prevented and how to eliminate them,” he adds.
Taking care of our lifestyle is essential
Thus, and regardless of whether a neurodegenerative disease is genetically predetermined in a person – or not -, whether the causes of neurodegeneration are known – or not -, it is known, as this expert highlights coinciding with the publication of ‘The sky that forgets its stars’ (Planet), “a healthy lifestyle” is essential, as well as taking care of cardiovascular risk factors, since this has an “immense impact.”
In fact, he emphasizes that taking care of ourselves at a cardiovascular level may not ‘free’ you from developing a neurodegenerative disease, but if we take care of ourselves at a cardiovascular level, the onset of this may be delayed, while it can become a more benign process. “Therefore, the central recommendation is to take care of our body because this will have a significant impact on what may happen to us in the future,” he concludes.