When can you be sure a person has Alzheimer's?!
Question: i know after you take some tests but when can you be almost sure
Answers: i know after you take some tests but when can you be almost sure
Well... first you have to diagnose dementia. There are screening tests (like Mini Mental State or the clock test) and more sophisticated tests. Then you have to take the history and eventually do a cat scan to exclude other disorders.
Now if you have dementia, then Alzheimer is the most common underlying condition and you can make it even more probable if you exclude other reasons of dementia. But a definite diagnosis of alzheimer is possible after death only.
Other common forms of dementia are for example
Vascular dementia (also known as Morbus Binswanger) - you can exclude it with the cat scan and history (a absence of a history of stroke and a slowly progressive course make vascular dementia unlikely)
Parkinson dementia - you can exclude it with the history (The absence of a history of parkinson disease makes parkinson dementia unlikely)
Dementia of the lewy body type - you can exclude it with the history (The absence of symptoms of parkinson disease and the absence of scenic hallucinations make this diagnosis unlikely)
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However, the therapeutic options for each one of those conditions are limited at the moment. So it's not that important to be sure of the diagnosis.
it usually begins with......errrrr. what was the question?
doctors can dignose it about 80 precent of the time but the only true way to tell is after they die to do an autopsy.
We were sure my father-in-law had it when he and my mother-in-law got home one day and he asked her if she lived there. I think when a person forgets where they live it's pretty conclusive evidence of alzheimers.
I do know of someone who had recently moved and one day after work he drove back to the old house and was actually at the door trying to open it before he remembered he didn't live there anymore. I don't think that's the same thing, he was just a space cadet.
Although there are some brain scans that can be done, the sure way is upon autopsy.
Look for signs of short memory loss. If you know someone that your concerned about.... try this. We will say our person's name is Jim. Tell him that you are going to quote three words... Cat, dog, car...... after about 10 to 15 seconds ask him what those words were. This is a "test" they would do in the doctor's office to see if there are symptoms. If he can't remember those words, along with a few other
"tests" then that is a early sign of Alzheimer's.......Hope this helps
You can't tell if it is alzheimers until post mortem. There are many different causes of dementia but the symtoms are the same.
There are many signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's but saddly the only way to be completely sure is after they have died (not from Alzheimer's, but the effects of it) and an autopsy is done. (if you choose to have one) Most people don't require an autopsy because they pass from the effects of Alzheimer's and a natural death. You would have to request to have an autospy done to see if they did in fact have Alzheimer's, but saddly you can tell far earlier than that.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, which is a loss of mental function that can prevent a person from performing daily tasks. Vascular dementia, caused by a lack of blood flow to the brain, is the second most common type of dementia. Lewy body dementia is similar to Alzheimer's disease, but the relationship between the two is not well understood.
Learn more about this condition at iVillage Total Health's Alzheimer & Dementia Center:
http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/alzh...
On 3 January 2007, Robin Lloyd, Senior Editor of Live Science, published an article which stated that new research supports growing concerns that herpes plays a role in the development of Alzheimer