Question:

For the past year or so my dad (57 years old) has complained about short term memory losses (like he'd ask three times the same thing: "where is my blue jumper") and recently he had what I believe is called a black-out: he was driving and suddenly couldn't remember anything. He still was able to stop the car (he himself doesn't remember how) and wait until it passed. He said he doesn;t remember how long it too but probably not long because he's been away from home about 30 minutes. He lives in Poland where medical facilities are not very good, and the GP he went to see told him it could be early Alzheimer, especially if it tends to run in the family. But there's no way to know as my father's father died very young of cancer and was an adopted child. His mom died aged 88 and in normal mental health. No other cases are known. Is there anywhere were I could get info for me and him, and could it be something else than Alzheimer? They're planned to do a brain scan sometimes but considering the waiting lists in Poland for medical treatment it could take up to three months before it's his turn...

Answer:

It could be Alzheimer's. 57 is definitely not too young to be stricken. We have several people on this ng who have loved ones with AD younger than that, and even a patient herself who was quite a bit younger than that when first diagnosed. But it could also be some other problem, and that could be just as or more serious. So some fast answers are needed. Are you in Poland, too? If not, or even if you are, would it be possible to get your father to a country (like US) where he could have testing done much sooner? Anytime you have abnormalities that involve the brain....and the types of blackouts you describe definitely involve the brain....time is critical and it's essential that the cause is investigated ASAP. It's possible that your father could be on the verge of suffering a disabling or fatal stroke, which might be preventable if diagnosed and some treatment provided. There could be a tumor or an aneurysm. Really, there could be many explanations, with varying degrees of seriousness. It's possible it could even be something relatively easy to treat. Under the circumstances, though, I don't think your family can afford to make assumptions that it's nothing urgent.

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