Causes of memory loss
Joy Onuorah
Many factors can cause memory loss. These factors include:
- vitamin B-12 deficiency
- sleep deprivation
- use of alcohol or drugs and some prescription
- medications
- anesthesia from recent surgery
- cancer treatments such as chemotherapy,
- radiation, or bone marrow transplant
- head injury or concussion
- lack of oxygen to the brain
- certain types of seizures
- brain tumor or infection
- brain surgery or heart bypass surgery
- mental disorders such as depression, bipolar
- disorder, schizophrenia, and dissociative disorder
- emotional trauma
- thyroid dysfunction
- electroconvulsive therapy
- transient ischemic attack (TIA)
- neurodegenerative illnesses such as Huntington’s
- disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), or Parkinson’s disease
- migraine
Some of these conditions are treatable and, in some cases, memory loss can be reversed.
Be sure to consult your doctor if memory loss starts to affect your daily life, or if it’s accompanied by other symptoms.
