Experience from a memory center at a university hospital

The memory center at Molndal Hospital was opened in 1993 to meet the need for outpatient evaluation, information, and treatment of patients with cognitive disturbances of various degrees. As memory disturbance is a key symptom in dementia, memory complaints in elderly people may be the first symptom of a slow or rapid development of dementia, but in many cases they only reflect a decline in short-time memory that is considered normal in aging. During the period January 1993 to June 1994, 406 patients with subjective memory complaints were received at the center. About one-fourth of these patients were found to be demented and 35% to have mild cognitive dysfunction. The latter group is the most important target group for therapeutic measures. Although dementia, with few exceptions, is not reversible today, certain pharmacologic treatments are believed to slow down its progress. About 40% of the patients had no measurable cognitive disturbance, but depressive and neurotic symptoms were relatively common among both these patients and the others. Measures taken at the memory center were information, advice, brief psychotherapy, support of relatives, and pharmacotherapy aiming at alleviating disease-related symptoms like depression and emotional disturbance or at supplementing neurotropic vitamins or other essential substances. Our experience indicates that early diagnosis combined with these measures may slow down the progress rate of dementia, enhance the quality of life, and delay institutionalization for many patients.