Researchers have discovered that dementia may not have been a common illness among the elderly in Ancient Greece or frequently present in Ancient Rome. The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, analyzed medical writing from both civilizations, including works by the Greek physician Hippocrates and his followers, as well as Roman physicians Galen and Pliny the Elder. The Greek writings mentioned minor memory issues, which modern physicians would classify as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but there were no mentions of more serious memory loss indicative of Alzheimer’s disease or other similar conditions. Roman texts occasionally referred to more dementia-like conditions, such as the story of Valerius Messalla Corvinus, who forgot his own name.
Dementia Remarkably Rare in Ancient Greece and Rome, Study Reveals
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