The Healthy Brain and Memory Centre

Here’s our point…when more than 100 different conditions can cause dementia, WHO assesses you matters.

Dementia is not one disease. It describes a collection of symptoms that can have many different underlying causes. And those causes don’t always look the same.

For one person, memory loss may be the first sign. For another, changes may begin with language, behaviour, judgement, movement or visual processing.

Importantly, not every cognitive change is dementia. Some medical conditions, medications, sleep disorders, depression and nutritional deficiencies can cause cognitive symptoms too.

There is also no single test for dementia.

A comprehensive assessment may involve medical history, cognitive testing, physical and neurological examination, pathology, brain imaging and, when appropriate, more specialised testing.

The goal isn’t simply to ask:

“Is this dementia?”

It’s to ask:

“What is causing these changes?”

Because the answer can affect treatment, management, prognosis and what happens next.

More than 100 possible causes.
One person.
Finding the right explanation matters.

And so does who is looking for it. 🙏🏼

Delirium; an acute change in attention, awareness and thinking that typically develops over hours or days and can fluctuate throughout the day.

People living with dementia are particularly vulnerable to delirium. There are common underlying triggers and PINCH ME can help us think it through.

P — Pain
Could they be experiencing pain they’re unable to communicate clearly?

I — Infection
Infections can precipitate delirium, particularly in vulnerable older people.

N — Nutrition
Have they been eating adequately?

C — Constipation
Constipation — and other sources of physical discomfort, including urinary retention — can contribute to delirium.

H — Hydration
Dehydration can be an important precipitating factor.

M — Medication
Has a medication recently been started, stopped or changed? Could there be an adverse effect or interaction?

E — Environment
Hospital admission, unfamiliar surroundings, disrupted sleep or a significant change in routine can all contribute.

Delirium doesn’t always look like dramatic confusion or agitation.

It can be hyperactive; restless, agitated or heightened.

It can be hypoactive; unusually quiet, withdrawn, drowsy or less responsive, which can be much easier to miss.

Or it can be mixed, fluctuating between the two.

PINCH ME is a useful prompt but not an exhaustive checklist or diagnostic test.

There are other potentially serious causes of delirium that require clinical assessment so the important message is this:

If someone living with dementia suddenly becomes significantly more confused, drowsy, agitated or simply different from their usual self, don’t automatically assume their dementia has progressed. Seek prompt medical assessment.

Sometimes the most important question isn’t:
“Has their dementia become worse?”

It’s:

“What has changed, and why?”

We often hear that people living with dementia should be treated with dignity. But what that actually look like in day to day life?

It means continuing to recognise the adult, the individual and the person, even when dementia changes their memory, communication or abilities.

In practice, it can mean:

🤍 Speak to them, not about them.
Include the person in the conversation rather than automatically directing questions to their family or carer.

🤍 Never assume what they can or can’t understand.
Give them time to process what you’ve said and time to respond.

🤍 Don’t infantilise them.
They are an adult with a lifetime of experiences, relationships, preferences and achievements.

🤍 Keep them involved in decisions.
A diagnosis of dementia does not automatically mean someone can no longer make decisions. Support choice and independence wherever possible.

🤍 Don’t argue simply to prove them wrong.
Listen to what they’re communicating and acknowledge the feelings behind it rather than repeatedly correcting or contradicting them.

🤍 Protect their privacy.
Needing help with dressing, toileting or personal care doesn’t make privacy or modesty less important.

🤍 Know the person, not just the diagnosis.
Their history matters. Their culture matters. Their relationships, routines, likes, dislikes and personality still matter.

Dementia can change how someone remembers, communicates and navigates the world.

It does not make them any less deserving of choice, respect, identity and dignity.

Sometimes dignity is protected through the smallest things:

Speaking to someone rather than over them.
Waiting for their answer.
Offering a choice.
Listening instead of correcting.

And remembering that dementia is something a person lives with.

It is not who they are. 🤍🤍🤍

The problem isn’t the blood tests. It’s who is being told to have them and the test being promoted as the starting point. 🙅🏻‍♂️

Alzheimer’s blood tests are one of the most exciting advances in dementia medicine. But new Australian research has uncovered a worrying problem with how they’re being discussed online.

University of Sydney researchers analysed 188 Facebook, Instagram and TikTok posts about Alzheimer’s blood tests.

The accounts behind those posts had a combined audience of more than 114 million followers.

And more than one-third of the posts suggested these tests could be used to screen healthy people without cognitive symptoms despite current clinical recommendations not supporting their routine use for this purpose.

So why not and why does that matter?

These blood tests measure biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s disease pathology, including forms of phosphorylated tau and amyloid-beta.

For the right patient, used in the right clinical setting, they represent an enormously important advance.

But detecting an Alzheimer’s-related biomarker is not the same as simply being told you have dementia.

Current guidance supports the use of appropriately validated blood biomarkers in the diagnostic assessment of people with objective cognitive impairment in specialist memory care, alongside a comprehensive clinical evaluation.

It does not currently recommend routine screening of cognitively healthy people.

And importantly, not every Alzheimer’s blood test performs equally or has the same clinical role. More testing isn’t always better medicine.

‼️ If you want to be proactive about brain health or if you are concerned about changes in your memory or thinking, the starting point shouldn’t be a test promoted to you on social media.

Please start with a comprehensive assessment. Then we use the right tests, for the right person, at the right time.

If you or someone you love has noticed changes in memory or thinking, please contact Healthy Brain & Memory Centre to arrange an assessment. 🙏🏼🤍

‘You Must Remember This’ 🤎 A beautiful book that places us inside the world of Grace, an older woman living with dementia, where memories arrive in pieces and the boundaries between past and present begin to blur.

And there’s something particularly clever about the way Sean Wilson tells her story: the chapters themselves are out of order. The book begins with Chapter 10, then moves to 7, 11, 12, 8, 1… inviting the reader to experience some of the disorientation of Grace’s world rather than simply observe it.

It was shortlisted for the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award, and Dementia Australia has just selected it as its Library Pick of the Month. We’re picking it too 💙

Wishing everyone a gentle weekend.

Our newest team member may be slightly underqualified, but his message is a very big ‘dill’ for brain health. (Deal..ok yes we stole his line 🫠)

Social connection isn’t just good for how we feel. It matters for how we age.

Research has consistently linked social isolation and loneliness with poorer cognitive health and a higher risk of dementia.

That doesn’t mean loneliness causes dementia on its own; dementia risk is complex and influenced by many factors, but maintaining meaningful social connection is one of the modifiable areas we can pay attention to as we get older.

Reminder; quality connection doesn’t have to mean a packed social calendar.

It can be joining our weekly coffee and connection session every Wednesday. 💚
A regular coffee with a friend.
A phone call with family.
A walking group.
Volunteering.
A weekly class.
Spending time with people who make you feel like you belong.

At Healthy Brain & Memory Centre, we talk a lot about exercise, sleep, cardiovascular health and keeping the brain active.

But please don’t underestimate connection.

(Emotional support services provided by Pickle are not yet Medicare-rebatable)

Reshare: Great to see the SMH’s Good Weekend shining a light on traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the often invisible consequences that can remain long after the physical injuries have healed. 🧠

TBI is not rare. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data show that in 2021–22 alone, there were around 10,700 hospitalisations for concussion, and concussion itself is a form of traumatic brain injury.

Falls accounted for half of those hospitalisations, while transport accidents and sport were also important causes.

But what happens after a brain injury is something we believe deserves far more attention.

A person can look physically recovered while continuing to experience changes in memory, attention, processing speed, executive function, fatigue, mood, emotional regulation, impulse control and behaviour.

For some people these changes can be profound, affecting relationships, employment, independence and their sense of identity.

At Healthy Brain & Memory Centre, there is another important message here: changes in memory or thinking do not automatically mean dementia.

Cognitive symptoms can have many different causes. Acquired brain injury (including TBI) is one of them.

Understanding why cognition has changed, the pattern of those changes and how they are affecting everyday life is an important part of appropriate assessment and management.

And no two brain injuries are the same. The effects and recovery following TBI can vary enormously from one person to another.

This is an excellent piece by journalist Tim Elliott for Good Weekend, sharing the experiences of Australians living with the long-term consequences of brain injury.

You can read the full article via the Sydney Morning Herald/Good Weekend.

Images/article: Sydney Morning Herald / Good Weekend.

Statins are among the most commonly prescribed medicines for lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke; Concerns about statins and memory didn’t come from nowhere…

Years ago, some people taking these cholesterol-lowering medications reported forgetfulness, confusion or feeling mentally “fuzzy”.

In 2012, the US FDA added information about possible cognitive side effects to statin labels.

More than a decade later, however, the evidence is mounting against the fear!

A major 2026 study analysed real-world health records from more than 125 million people in the United States.

Among adults over 45 with abnormal cholesterol levels, statin use was associated with a 31% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Does that mean statins prevent Alzheimer’s? No.

This was an observational study. It can show an association, but it cannot prove that statins caused the lower risk.

Other differences between people who did and didn’t take statins may have influenced the results.

‼️ But importantly, the study did not find an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease among people taking statins.

That matters because statins are widely prescribed to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, and fear about possible effects on the brain may make some people reluctant to take medication they have been prescribed.

Our heart and brain health are closely connected. Managing cardiovascular risk factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking is an important part of looking after our brain health as we age. ❤️🧠

If you’ve been prescribed a statin and are concerned about your memory or possible side effects, please speak with your doctor before making any changes to your medication.

‼️ The message isn’t “take a statin to prevent Alzheimer’s.” It’s “don’t avoid a statin you medically need because you’re frightened it will cause Alzheimer’s.”