Brain Power Tips

Memory loss is a result of many different conditions.  Disease, poisoning, injury and even old age can result in poor memory.  But there are ways to prevent and even repair this damage.  Supplements, memory tricks and prescription drugs are widely considered to be the best treatment for memory loss.

Treatment for memory loss can begin at the dinner table.  While a nutritious diet in general is best for overall health, Vitamins B12 and B9 are key in improving cognition and preventing memory loss.  B12 can be found in meats like chicken and beef, shellfish, and even eggs.  Vitamin B9 (or folic acid) is found in grain products like pasta.  Antioxidants are important too.  They prevent molecules from oxidizing, which in turn can damage brain cells.  Antioxidants are plentiful in fruits and vegetables.

Memory tricks are best used in an environment conducive to learning.  The easiest thing to do is to slow your pace and pay careful attention.  Surround yourself with notes, to-do lists, datebooks and clocks.  You can remember numbers in groups much easier than individually.  For instance, try to remember 1020 as “ten twenty” rather than “one zero two zero”.  Mnemonics (methods that correlate words and ideas to make them memorable) are great tools as well.  To recall the scientific classification system in zoology, remember the first letter of each word in Keep Pond Clean Or Frogs Get Sick.  This corresponds to Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species.

There are many prescription drugs used to treat memory loss associated with diseases like Alzheimer’s.  Neotropin stimulates nerve cell growth, and Aricept slows the progression of dementia.  Cognex may be the most well known drug to treat memory loss since it was the first approved by the FDA.  It increases neurotransmitter levels, but like many drugs, may have harmful side effects.

These methods can be applied to the treatment of memory loss, but they are by no means the only methods available.  Advances in research are on-going, giving memory loss sufferers hope for the future.

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