Alzheimer's Disease Diagnosis

There are several tests to diagnose Alzheimer's. Differential diagnosis is important. Thus to diagnose Alzheimer apart from other possible origins of memory loss physicians take the following steps:

• Anamnesis: Taking medical history from both patient and his/her family is important.  Doctors need to learn patient's daily activities if they have difficulties while performing it. The past and current health status of the patient will provide a lot of insights about his/her medical condition and if it is related with Alzheimer's disease.
• Blood tests: It is necessary to take these tests to detect potential problems which are related with dementia like thyroid, vitamin disorders etc..
• Assessment of mental status: To evaluate patient's mental status, there are several test that need to be taken.  The tests help to monitor patient's cognitive problem  including solving skills, their ability to count and their native language.
  Possible questions may be: When is your birthday? When was the Gulf War?
• Brain Scan: Taking a visual of the brain may is a common diagnosis method by employing CT ( computerized tomography), PET ( positron emission tomography), MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging). These brain scans may help to identify abnormalities within the brain.
• Neuropsychological Assessment: These tests are being used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease at an early stage. They monitor patient's mental abilities to check if it is relevant to his/her age and education.

What is the importance of early diagnosis in Alzheimer's disease?

Early and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is important in view of potential treatment advances and ongoing therapeutic clinical trials. The earliest cognitive deficits have shown to involve episodic memory, and this observation is thought to reflect the earliest site of pathology in the medial temporal lobe structures.

Why early diagnosis is low in Alzheimer' disease

Alzheimer has a slow progression.  Although patients suffer from the signs and symptoms, they usually deny that they have a problem. This is because they are usually anxious about being aware of the problem.  Thus for most of the times they hide it from the relatives and don't refer to a doctor.  As a consequence this causes a major delay for early diagnosis.