Alzheimer's Disease
See Also:
Alzheimer's
Disease: Introduction
Alzheimer's
Disease: Types
Alzheimer's
Disease: Causes & Risk Factors
Alzheimer's
Disease: Signs & Symptoms
Alzheimer's
Disease: Stages
Alzheimer's
Disease: Medical Tests & Diagnosis Methods
Alzheimer's
Disease: Treatment Options & Prevention
Medical Tests & Diagnosis Methods/Tools
There are no specific tests to diagnose
Alzheimers disease thus the process of diagnosing
the disease involves exclusion - ruling out the ...other
diseases and conditions that can cause memory loss."
In order to differentiate AD from other causes of memory
loss, the following aspects are taken into consideration:
Medical History:
The doctors will enquire about the individuals
general health and past medical history to know and
understand if the individual is facing any difficulty in
performing his/her routine activities. In the process,
the doctor may discuss with his or her family, friends
and colleagues to collect more information (13).
Basic
Medical Tests:
Routine basic diagnostic tests such as blood
tests, thyroid and liver function tests, glucose
tests etc., indicating illnesses are conducted to
rule out other diseases. Depression screening may
also be conducted and at times a spinal fluid
collected for testing (14).In addition, the
doctor would also inquire about diet, nutrition
and consumption of alcohol. The doctor will also
review all the patient's medications including
over-the-counter drugs and supplements. The
doctor would try to identify other disorders that
can cause loss of memory, confusion, attention
deficit or symptoms similar to dementia that
include:
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- Anemia, malnutrition or vitamin deficiencies
- Excess consumption of alcohol
- Side effects of medication
- Diabetes
- Kidney or liver disease
- Thyroid abnormalities
- Problems with the heart, lung or blood vessels
(15)
Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE):
This is one of the most common tests used to assess
mental function of the patient. It involves various
questions typically framed to examine the mental skills
required to perform day-to-day routine activities. The
questions may be as follows:
- To remember and recall the names of three common
objects such as lock, pen and penny after a few
minutes.
- To state the current date, day of the week, year
and season.
- Count backwards from 100 by 7s or spell a word
backwards.
- Name a couple of familiar objects that the doctor
points out.
- Tell a common proverb or saying after the
examiner.
Various other such questions are posed and the results
evaluated. A maximum score of 30 MMSE points are taken
for consideration. A score of 20-24 suggest mild
dementia, 13-20 suggest moderate dementia and below 12
indicates severe dementia. On an average, the score
declines by 2-4 points every year for a person suffering
from AD (15).
Mini-Cog Test:
A smaple of a "Mini-cog" test (cog = cognition)
involves the following two types of tests:
1. Remembering and repeating the names of three
common objects.
2. Drawing a clock and showing 12 numbers in their
places and time asked for by the examiner (15).
Neurological Exam:
This is an important test to assess the proper
functioning of nervous system as a whole and the brain in
particular to identify disorders, if any, other than
Alzheimers disease. The physician may test for
reflexes, coordination and balance, muscle tone and
strength, eye movement, speech and sensation (15).
Brain Imaging:
- Structural Imaging: This
technique furnishes information such as shape,
position or volume of brain tissue. These
techniques include magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) and computed tomography (CT).
- Functional Imaging: This
technique reveals the working of cells in various
regions of brain by ...showing how
actively the cells use sugar or oxygen.
The techniques include positron emission
tomography (PET) and functional MRI (fMRI) (15).

See Also:
Alzheimer's
Disease: Introduction
Alzheimer's
Disease: Types
Alzheimer's
Disease: Causes & Risk Factors
Alzheimer's
Disease: Signs & Symptoms
Alzheimer's
Disease: Stages
Alzheimer's
Disease: Medical Tests & Diagnosis Methods
Alzheimer's
Disease: Treatment Options & Prevention
Article by Kona Vishnu, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com
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