[Memory complaints: epidemiology and diagnostic approach].

: IN THE ELDERLY: Complaints of poor memory for everyday activities are common in the young as well as in the elderly. However, in the elderly, memory complaints are especially of interest on account of their frequency and the fear of being related to early Alzheimer's disease. Two types of memory complaints should distinguished. ENCODING/STORAGE DEFECTS: Memory difficulties related to early Alzheimer's disease are mainly related to a deficit in encoding and/or storage. They are restricted to the recent past and rapidly associated with temporal disorientation, limitation in everyday activities and behavioral modifications alerting the family responsible for seeking medical advice in most cases. Short examination of memory performance shows a free recall deficit which is not improved by cued recall. BENIGN DIFFICULTIES: Memory difficulties of benign type are due to a pure recall deficit: they are experienced as well for ancient as for recent past and the difficulty in recall is transient. There are no behavioral modifications or limitation in everyday activities: the disorder is purely subjective. At examination, the deficit in free recall is corrected by cueing. Benign type of memory complaints is mostly related to psychoaffective disturbances and subjects experiencing this type of memory difficulties are not at high risk for developing dementia.