I wondered about this too. My mother has slight rheumatoid arthritis, mainly osteoarthritis and a lot of pain. She started having steroid injections about 2 years ago, and then 18 months ago was put on prednisolone tablets. After about 3 months on them, her memory suddenly deteriorated to a great extent. The change was dramatic - she suddenly couldn't take her own medication which she had always done before, noting down the times she took the various different drugs she has. She stopped reading books and her short-term recall was "shot". I started to wonder if it was the steroids, then I also thought it was the recurrent UTIs she had.

She was diagnosed with AD in January 2011 and put on Aricept in May. She started on the lower dose, then went up to the full dose. It didn't seem to improve her symptoms and it gave her severe headaches, so after only 2 months she was taken off Aricept. As far as I know, it didn't interact with the prednisolone and she didn't complain of more or less pain. The prednisolone was mainly prescribed to alleviate her pain but never really did.

She was slowly taken off the prednisolone at my suggestion, because it wasn't helping her pain, and between November last year and March this, she reduced from 15mg. to nothing. I hoped to see an improvement in her short-term memory - not seen this yet, but her mood seems to have changed - after 3 weeks off the prednisolone she is much more lively and "with it", joining in quizzes, interacting with other residents at the care home, etc. (She is in respite care.) Her verbal memory seems to be very good. It may be something to do with her settling in the care home after 3 months; I am not sure. She has been better when I visited for about 2 or 3 weeks, but there are lapses when she seems bewildered and distressed. She always asks about coming home and why she is in there. She still can't remember what she just had for dinner and she is still in a lot of pain, though doesn't complain to the staff about it much. (She also has a Fentanyl patch.)

As she has passed into the moderate stage, I am hoping the doctor will prescribe her Ebixa. We are hopefully going to see him in the next few weeks.

My mother wasn't always on 15mg prednisolone. At the beginning, for quite a time, she was only on 5mg. I hope you do see an improvement in your father's memory. Keep posting and let us know how it goes; I am still hoping against hope that my Mum's AD is drug-induced dementia. I read one account of a man whose memory improved after 6 months off prednisolone, so there is a remote possibility.

One other thing, I should add. The steroid injections and at times, the tablets, had a marked change on her mood. The injections made her feel well and elated for a couple of days, then she went down; other times they made her depressed. The tablets, too, had a depressive effect on her, such that the doctor kept reducing her dosage, then putting it up again when she complained of pain. They are definitely mood-altering drugs, in my experience.