ALZHEIMER
DIAGNOSIS |
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No one diagnostic test can detect if a
person has Alzheimer's disease. The process involves several kinds
of tests, a primary care physician and possibly other specialists.
and may take more than one day. With the proper diagnostic tools and
criteria, physicians can make a diagnosis of Alzheimer's with 90
percent accuracy.
Doctors use several tools to diagnose
"probable" Alzheimer's disease:
- A complete medical history:
Includes information about the person's general health, past
medical problems, and any difficulties the person has carrying
out daily activities.
- Medical tests: Such as tests of
blood, urine, or spinal fluid - help the doctor find other
possible diseases causing the symptoms.
- Neuropsychological tests:
Measures memory, problem solving, attention, counting, and
language.
- Brain scans: Allows the doctor
to look at a picture of the brain to see if anything does not
look normal.
Information from the medical history
and test results help the doctor rule out other possible causes of
the person's symptoms, such as thyroid problems, drug reactions,
depression, brain tumors, and blood vessel disease. Some of these
other conditions can be treated successfully. |
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