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The neurology of aging: normal versus pathologic change
1Jewish Hospital of St. Louis.
Geriatrics
|August 1, 1991
Summary
Aging brings mild neurologic changes, like memory and gait shifts, that usually don't hinder daily life unless disease is present. Distinguishing normal aging from illness can be challenging.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Gerontology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Normal aging involves subtle neurologic functional changes.
- These changes can affect memory, cognitive processing speed, sleep, and sensory-motor functions.
- Age-associated neuroanatomic alterations, such as reduced brain weight, often accompany these functional changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe typical neurologic changes associated with aging.
- To highlight the variability in age-related neurologic alterations.
- To emphasize the challenge in differentiating normal aging from disease-related impairment.
Main Methods:
- Review of age-associated changes in neurologic function.
- Correlation of functional changes with neuroanatomic alterations.
- Clinical observation and literature synthesis.
Main Results:
- Mild impairments in memory, cognitive speed, sleep, vision, hearing, vibratory sense, gait, and posture are common in older adults.
- These functional changes generally correlate with neuroanatomic changes, like diminished brain weight.
- Significant individual variability exists in the extent of these age-related changes.
Conclusions:
- Neurologic changes with aging are common but typically do not substantially impair daily activities.
- Differentiating normal age-related neurologic changes from those caused by disease is often difficult.
- Understanding these distinctions is crucial for accurate diagnosis and care in older adults.