Memory Problems With Antidepressants

Memory problems commonly occur with depression, and antidepressant medications may improve mood while promoting difficulties with memory. This vicious cycle has proven resistant to treatments with both memory enhancing drugs and mood stabilizing medications.

Regular brain and body exercise, diet and nutritional supplements can help restore and maintain memory function that is not impaired by either dementia or Alzheimer's disease. A promising new drug that combines both antidepressant and memory enhancement features is awaiting approval.

Memory, Mood and Drugs

• Memory problems are often associated with mood disorders such as depression as well as with the drugs---including antidepressants---used to treat the disorder. In addition to depression, stress, bipolar illness (manic depression), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety can also affect memory and cognitive function.

  Depression can cause difficulties with long-term memory; if aggravated by anxiety, depression can also affect short-term memory. It's known, for example, that stress hormones such as cortisol can compromise memory functions. Benzodiazapines, such as lorazepam, used for treatment of anxiety, also can affect memory functions.

  Lithium, commonly used to treat bipolar illness, can impair not only memory but concentration and cognition (thinking). In addition, many types of antidepressants, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medications can affect overall brain function including memory.

Aging and Memory

• Older adults can experience memory problems unrelated to dementia or Alzheimer's disease (AD). Dealing with the death of a spouse or other close friend or family member, as well as the changes associated with retirement, can trigger anxiety, confusion and forgetfulness---and deepen an already-established tendency toward depression. These emotional difficulties can be treated and resolved with counseling and medical help, including the use of antidepressants..

  On the other hand, dementia is a serious and irreversible brain disorder that can cause changes in memory, personality and behavior. Signs of dementia include repeatedly asking the same question; inability to follow directions; getting lost in familiar surroundings; disorientation to time, place and people; and neglect of personal hygiene and nutrition.

  Alzheimer's causes the progressive death of large amounts of brain cells. Symptoms range from mild forgetfulness to serious impairments in thinking and function, usually leading to a need for complete care.

Improve Your Memory

• If you believe that an underlying mood disorder or the drugs used to treat it are causing you memory problems, you can take steps to improve your memory. For example, write things down on a calendar and use an electronic organizer; keep a list of account numbers, passwords and log-ins in a secure place.

  Keep items such as car keys, sunglasses and cell phone in a basket close to the front door. Simplify your life and eliminate unnecessary activities

  Give your brain a daily workout by engaging in interesting conversation, doing crossword puzzles or sudoku, taking a class, getting at least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise each day, and practicing yoga or other relaxation exercises. Reducing your stress level can improve your memory

Improve Your Diet

• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found that gingko biloba has the potential to enhance memory in already-healthy individuals. However, you should check with your doctor because gingko biloba also has been known to cause bleeding in some people.The antioxidants in fruits and vegetables help to nurture and protect valuable brain cells.

  Calcium is thought to assist in new learning and storage of data while folic acid improves oxygenation of blood in the brain. Other important substances that can aid memory include magnesium, vitamins B3, B6 and B12, as well as essential fatty acids. Eating breakfast has been proven to help cognition and memory.

Promising New Drug

• A new drug that combines a memory enhancing agent with an antidepressant should soon be available. A patent application on file with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the new therapy notes that depression only compounds memory problems, but antidepressants do not improve memory. And memory-enhancing therapies have no effect on the accompanying depression.

  This is because many neurochemical systems are intertwined, and when there is depression and/or memory loss, some additional neurochemical systems are likely to be dysfunctional and beyond the reach of either type of treatment. The inventor of the new drug claims to have identified the alternate chemical pathways in the brain through which both memory and mood can be altered in the same person.

  This approach holds the promise of effective treatment for both memory problems and mood disorders simultaneously.