May 12, 2008

What You Must Know About Testing For Alzheimer's Disease

Very often people are not aware of the fact that Alzheimer's disease does not show up on some type of blood test or MRI. In fact, testing for Alzheimer's disease frequently involves only physical tests that are meant to rule out other causes for a patient's symptoms, such as Parkinson's disease, a stroke or a brain tumor. The rest of any testing for Alzheimer's disease is generally just a series of psychological tests meant to measure a person's mental abilities and faculties.

There are exists physical and cognitive testing for Alzheimer's disease.

A number of patients may get an MRI or PET scan to rule out the possibility of brain injury, and of course blood is almost always taken for any medical test to see about hormone imbalances, chemical imbalances, cancers, and things such as these. But predominantly, testing for Alzheimer's disease involves a series of probing questions that will enable the doctor to assess a patient's mental condition.

So the cognitive testing for Alzheimer's disease has to be used.

Since Alzheimer's is a disease of the mind that mostly affects one's memory and problem-solving abilities, doctors find it helpful to question a patient in order to evaluate his or her mental state.

The patient may be asked about what day of the week it is, the month and date. They may be asked if they know where they are and what they are doing there. They may be asked the name of the current President of the United States. This will tell the physician their level of awareness of their environment.

Testing for Alzheimer's disease also includes assessing a patient's memory. They will be asked about their personal history, when they were married, how many children they have, the names of their spouse and children, and so on. An incapability to recall such information is a very strong indicator for Alzheimer's.

There may be other easy questions or problems presented as part of testing for Alzheimer's disease. For example, the patient may be requested to spell a short word backwards, or to do a simple math equation in their head.

All of these questions are considered in coincidence with any other symptoms that are reported to the doctor, such as changes in mood or behavior, increased irritability, paranoid thoughts or actions such as accusing persons of stealing, and similar things. When bringing in a loved one for testing for Alzheimer's disease, be prepared to talk to the doctor frankly and honestly about such circumstances so that he or she can reach the correct diagnosis.

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