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92 Years Old. CT Scan Showed Atrophy Or Shrinkage Of Brain. Is This Normal At This Age?

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Posted on Mon, 6 Aug 2012
Question: my 92 year old friend from church . Her doctor says that a CT Scan showed some atrophy or shrinkage of her brain, but no other abnormalities . is this normal for her age?

It seems to her that her reaction time have slowed down , especially when driving (she has a daytime restriction on her license) is this also normal for her age?

She seems to be forgetting things more. she couldn't find her checkbook yesterday , bur finally remembered a fewhours later . is this normal or is it mild cogNitive impairment?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Pavan Kumar Gupta (2 hours later)
Hello and thanks for the query.
Brains that shrink with old age may be the cost of a life span stretching into the 80s, according to a new study that finds human brains get smaller with age.

Brain atrophy occurs with the loss of neurons or the connections between them. Some degree of atrophy is a normal part of aging, but pathological conditions, such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, also feature atrophy as a symptom. Common scanning techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography, can detect brain atrophy.

Of the normal memory functions, some decline substantially with increasing age, and some do not.
Memory functions that decrease with age include recollection of memory like forgetting about the cheque book which happened with this old lady.

It is all normal aging process and it is really great to learn that she still drives the car.we all should take inspiration from her.

You are mostly welcome to ask any other query.
Best of luck
Thanks

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Pavan Kumar Gupta

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :1978

Answered : 6704 Questions

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92 Years Old. CT Scan Showed Atrophy Or Shrinkage Of Brain. Is This Normal At This Age?

Hello and thanks for the query.
Brains that shrink with old age may be the cost of a life span stretching into the 80s, according to a new study that finds human brains get smaller with age.

Brain atrophy occurs with the loss of neurons or the connections between them. Some degree of atrophy is a normal part of aging, but pathological conditions, such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, also feature atrophy as a symptom. Common scanning techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography, can detect brain atrophy.

Of the normal memory functions, some decline substantially with increasing age, and some do not.
Memory functions that decrease with age include recollection of memory like forgetting about the cheque book which happened with this old lady.

It is all normal aging process and it is really great to learn that she still drives the car.we all should take inspiration from her.

You are mostly welcome to ask any other query.
Best of luck
Thanks