‘Senior Moments’ May Be Alzheimer’s:

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) — A study found that in a disturbing number of cases, embarrassing "senior moments" such as forgetting a recent conversation or drawing a blank on someone’s name may really be a sign of Alzheimer’s after all.

Chicago scientists reached that conclusion after autopsies on the brains of 134 older people who had appeared to be mentally normal, apart from some subtle forgetfulness.

Occasional forgetfulness is often written off as a normal part of growing old and nothing to get alarmed about. And in most cases, that is probably true.

But the scientists found to their surprise that the brains of more than one-third of the participants were riddled with waxy protein clumps and other signs of degeneration that are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease.

The study "questions the acceptability of minor episodic memory loss in older adults as normal," said Dr. Carol Lippa, director of the memory disorders program at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She had no part in the study.

I was going to say something about this, but I forgot what it was.