hi
My father is currently ill in hospital with no diagnosis.
He fell ill around Xmas 2008 (7 weeks ago). He is 64 years old.
Since Xmas until around one week ago he has had fairly rapid memory loss. Over the course of the previous week the rate of decline has rapidly increased, e.g. he does not know he is in hospital, where he lives, cannot really hold a conversation as he tends to respond with a random statement, and immediately forgets what he or you have just said. He is also starting to have hallucinations, e.g. dogs in the hospital, and seems to be increasingly paranoid, although he is generally happy.
He has had Cat scan and MRI scans, which have identified a small cyst on his pituitary gland, although the neurosurgeon thinks due to its size this may be incidental to his symptoms. The scans do not show any change in his brain size, they do not suggest part of his brain is dying, nor is there any sign of bleeding or of other fluid.
In addition to the confusion./memory loss over the previous seven weeks he has had several "bad turns" which tend to last around a day, these symptoms include:
Full body tremors (remain conscious)
High (102+) temperatures
High Blood Pressure
Fast pulse 120bpm+
It goes without saying that all his family are extremely concerned, and would appreciate any thoughts (or experiences) people may have.
He has suffered with hand tremors for approx 10 years previously, and memory has occasionally not been 100% for quite some time
Thank you
Gavin