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Hi - some good discussion. I think the key issue here is that cognitive impairment has been due to previous stroke. I really do not accept the "oh its just a part of ageing". Sorry but the new findings on the plasticity of the brain put paid to the old acceptance that memory loss is a "natural" part of ageing. No cognitive impairment is due to specific changes that impact on the brain. Luckily my Mum's damage is vascular and not altzheimers. The fact of this damage what is suspected to be micro strokes in the past caused the initial cognitive impairment. Infections, particularly UTIs are, besides strokes, the biggest threat to further impairment. I think that it is about accepting that there will be a gradual decline with each infection episode - a fog afterwards, a recovery but not back to where she was. In the end as the Geriatrician said there is no magic pill and the best results for cognitive impairment arise from ensuring social interaction and participation, lots of mind stimulating activity - not anything strenuous. We saw the best result in my mother after this episode when a noisy bunch of family sat around her table for dinner (and we made sure she wore her hearing aids). I was nearly in tears when I saw the incredible change in her, the participation in talk and smiles AND she ate all her meal!! It was a real eye opener to me. I love Geriatricians - they are whole people clinicians and his advice was right and is one that is so neglected. Loneliness and inactivity are the enemy of cognition regardless of everything else. BUT do watch out for those UTIs.
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I wholeheartedly agree with jools, the asymptomatic uti's are the most difficult. My poor mom had one every time she was tested and there's no underestimating how much that contributed to her decline.

And l think what Danna is talking about is it it's hard to tell the difference between the normal aging of an elderly dementia patient and how much residual "fog" remains from a uti. My mom was 94 and a half and we could never tell.
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It is Possible in Age of 90 According me because :
Memory loss is often considered a problem with old age, but it’s a common and normal process of aging. As you grow older, it’s more difficult to use analytical skills and make mathematical calculations because the mind has more difficulties taking in new information and keeping it in the mind while it’s processed.

Multi-tasking becomes more difficult. Usually, an elderly person will be able to recall events from long ago, but the details may be selective and factually incorrect. For example, an 80-year-old woman may remember her first day of school, but not remember the name of the teacher or the students in her class.

An aging brain’s ability to retrieve information is not as sharp as it was during a person’s younger years.
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I'm sorry to read about you mothers recent decline. Where as all of us want to keep our parents in perfect health we are willing to see and accept the normal aging process when it as it starts to gradually take its course. You state that your mother is 90 and it might be a normal process for her at this age to have a bit of mental "fog" . If you feel that this is still abnormal for her and she is not bouncing back to her normal self as she should after the UTI, then I suggest that a UTI urine culture be done to determine if all the infection was taken care of. I didn't read where your mother was being maintain on an antibiotic propoplaticly to keep her from problematic UTI's in the future. Hope this might be of some help to you. God bless!
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Hi - just had Mum in hospital with serious UTI and delirum. We followed up with visit to geriatrician. Basically serious infections impact negatively on cognition and he advised that every time she got an infection (particularly UTI) her cognition would deteriorate. However, she would recover but not to where she was at prior to the infection. So our strategy is to avoid UTIs and this has involved some "intimate' and ongoing discussions with Mum about how to maintain good personal hygiene - wiping front to back, using flushable wipes where there might be difficultly in wiping. We are about to put a sign up in the toilet on the "rules". Also ensuring clean underwear daily and even at night. Another tip was a glass of cranberry juice at least once a day (I find she prefers the rasberry/cranberry). Cranberry apparently has a slight antiseptic affect in stopping the infection attaching to the urethra - but someone more qualified might be able to explain this. I have now become aware of how dangerous UTIs are in elderly women particularly where some cognitive impairment already exists. Mum is nearly back to her old self after about 6 weeks but not quite and probably wont be. It will be an ongoing battle and if there is a propensity for UTIs, as my Mum had, we were told to get a urine test if we notice the slightest change in cognition or otherwise. The worse UTIs like the one she just experienced are asymptomatic so you dont even know they have it till they completely crash. Good luck - its a battle.
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