Doctors use several methods and tools to help determine if a person with thinking or memory problems has Alzheimer’s disease. To diagnose Alzheimer’s, doctors may:
• Ask the person experiencing symptoms, as well as a family member or friend, questions about overall health, use of prescription and over-the-counter medicines, diet, past medical problems, ability to carry out daily activities, and changes in behavior and personality.
• Conduct tests of memory, problem solving, attention, counting, and language.
• Order blood, urine, and other standard medical tests that can help identify other possible causes of the problem.
• Administer a psychiatric evaluation to determine if depression or another mental health condition is causing or contributing to a person’s symptoms.
• Collect cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) via a spinal tap and measure the levels of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
• Perform brain scans, such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or positron emission tomography (PET), to support an Alzheimer’s diagnosis or rule out other possible causes for symptoms.
Doctors may want to repeat these tests to help best determine how the person’s memory and other cognitive functions are changing over time. The tests can also help diagnose other causes of memory problems, such as stroke, tumor, Parkinson’s disease, sleep disturbances, side effects of medication, an infection, or another type of dementia. Some of these conditions may be treatable and possibly reversible.
People with memory problems should return to the doctor every six to 12 months.
For more information on how Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed, from the National Institute on Aging, CLICK HERE.