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Dear Dr. Roach: I'm a healthy 70-year-old female who still works full-time and plays tennis regularly. I'm 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weigh 140 pounds. My concern is my memory, especially my speech. English is my second language, but I've been in the United States for over 40 years. Words often disappear from me when I need them and come back later when the subject is closed.
When I shared my concern with my friend, I was told that nicotine patches are helpful for memory loss, even though I'm no longer a smoker. I quit smoking 15 years ago after decades of smoking. What's your opinion on nicotine patches for memory loss? -- M.M.
Answer: First, occasional word recall difficulty isn't abnormal for healthy 70-year-olds, even native English speakers. Many people who are aging normally have tip-of-the-tongue word recall problems and usually find the word they're looking for later. Unless you have significant progression with this problem or have other memory or thinking problems, this may be nothing to worry about.
To answer your question, nicotine patches were shown to have small improvements in memory and attention in healthy older people and in people with mild cognitive impairment (some but not all of whom will develop dementia later). But they aren't approved by the Food and Drug Administration for this purpose.
These findings are small and aren't replicated. An ongoing trial is underway and may be published soon. In the meantime, I don't recommend nicotine patches for memory, attention or word recall.
Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu.