Age-related memory loss is common, but more serious memory problems may be a sign of dementia, which is not a normal part of aging.
“Dementia is a set of symptoms that show up as cognitive changes of sufficient severity to affect your daily activities, your daily function so you can no longer do what you formerly did because of your thinking skills,” says Dr. Ronald C. Petersen, PhD, MD, Director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, in Rochester, MN.
