Doctor reveals '10-year rule' for evaluating brain fog and dementia symptoms

Losing a train of thought, struggling to recall once-familiar words, or forgetting the reason for walking into a room can leave older adults wondering if they are experiencing early signs of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.However, these brain blips can often be tied to hormone shifts later in life, medical experts note — and women who experience a loss of estrogen during perimenopause and menopause are particularly affected.According to Dr.Rhonda Voskuhl, a professor of neurology at UCLA and co-founder of Cleopatra RX in Los Angeles, women experiencing memory struggles in midlife should compare their cognitive function to their own past performance before assuming something is seriously wrong.WOMEN WHO START COMMON HORMONE THERAPY IN THEIR 50S MAY HAVE 23% LOWER DEMENTIA RISK"I think they should listen to themselves," Voskuhl told Fox News Digital at the Livelong Women’s Health Summit in New York City on Friday.

"They know.Just ask yourself."For women, sudden memory lapses in midlife are often driven by estrogen loss during perimenopause and menopause rather than early-onset dementia.

(iStock)To help women gauge whether their memory lapses are tied to hormonal shifts, Voskuhl recommends using a quick benchmark – comparing their current mental state to where it was a decade ago."The first question is, are you worse than you were 10 years ago?" she said, referencing the Voskuhl Brain Fog Menopause Assessment used at UCLA's Comprehensive Menopausal Program.KATIE COURIC COULDN'T REMEMBER THE YEAR OR THE PRESIDENT DURING FRIGHTENING BRAIN EPISODE"Ten years is a pretty good spot.And they think, ‘What was I doing 10 years ago? What was I like? Was I having problems finding the words? Was I at the point where I couldn’t multitask anymore? Was I slow in my processing?’ And they’ll remember."This comparison can help reveal whether a woman’s cognitive changes may be linked to menopause, while giving patients and physicians a baseline for tracking symptoms...