Dementia how is it diagnosed

There is no one test to determine if someone has dementia. Doctors diagnose Alzheimer's and other types of dementia based on a careful medical history, a physical examination, laboratory tests, and the characteristic changes in thinking, day-to-day function and behavior associated with each type.

Doctors can determine that a person has dementia with a high level of certainty. But it's harder to determine the exact type of dementia because the symptoms and brain changes of different dementias can overlap. In some cases, a doctor may diagnose "dementia" and not specify a type. If this occurs, it may be necessary to see a specialist such as a neurologist, psychiatrist, psychologist or geriatrician. Learn more: Memory Tests Dementia help and support are available If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with dementia, you are not alone.

The Alzheimer's Association is one of the most trusted resources for information, education, referral and support. The first survivor of Alzheimer's is out there, but we won't get there without you. Treatment of dementia depends on its cause. Others can temporarily slow the worsening of dementia symptoms and improve quality of life for those living with Alzheimer's and their caregivers. The same medications used to treat Alzheimer's are among the drugs sometimes prescribed to help with symptoms of other types of dementias.

Non-drug therapies can also alleviate some symptoms of dementia. Ultimately, the path to effective new treatments for dementia is through increased research funding and increased participation in clinical studies. Not everyone will need a brain scan, particularly if the tests and assessments show that dementia is a likely diagnosis.

These scans may also be used to check for evidence of other possible problems that could explain a person's symptoms, such as a stroke or a brain tumour. A CT scan can be used to check for signs of stroke or a brain tumour. But it cannot provide detailed information about the structure of the brain. Even if a brain scan does not show any obvious changes, this does not mean someone does not have dementia. If a specialist is worried that epilepsy may be causing the dementia symptoms, an EEG may be taken to record the brain's electrical signals brain activity , but this is rare.

Find dementia information and support services. Page last reviewed: 3 July Next review due: 3 July Tests for diagnosing dementia - Dementia guide Secondary navigation About dementia About dementia Worried someone has dementia?

What causes dementia? Can dementia be prevented? How is dementia treated? Can dementia be cured? You'll also be asked to do a memory or cognitive test to check any problems with your memory or ability to think clearly.

Read more about the tests used to diagnose dementia. Dementia can be difficult to diagnose, especially if your symptoms are mild. If the GP has been able to rule out other causes for your symptoms, they'll refer you to a healthcare professional who specialises in diagnosing dementia, such as:. The specialist may work in a memory clinic with other professionals who are experts in diagnosing, caring for, and advising people with dementia, and their families.

Find out more about memory assessments, how to get support and how to take care of your wellbeing while waiting for your appointment from the Next Steps website. It's important to make good use of your time with the specialist. Write down questions you want to ask, make a note of any medical terms the doctor uses, and ask if you can come back if you think of more questions later. Taking the opportunity to go back can be very helpful.

The specialist may organise more tests. If the specialist is still not certain about the diagnosis, you may need to have further, more complex tests. But most cases of dementia can be diagnosed after these assessments.

A study by the Alzheimer's Society has shown that more than half of people wait for up to a year before getting help for dementia symptoms, because they feel afraid. But an accurate and early diagnosis can have many benefits. After you've had the necessary tests or sometimes before the tests , your doctor should ask if you want to know your diagnosis. The frontal and anterior temporal lobes of the brain control reasoning, personality, movement, speech, language, social graces, and some aspects of memory.

Symptoms may lead to misdiagnosis as a psychological or emotionally-based problem. FTD frequently occurs after age 40 and usually before age Symptoms appear in two seemingly opposite ways: some individuals are overactive, restless, distracted, and disinhibited showing poor social judgment , while others are apathetic, inert, and emotionally blunted.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. This condition can be very difficult to diagnose as it has many different symptoms, including behavioral changes, movement changes, cognitive changes, and general changes in well-being such as sleep problems, loss of appetite, and headaches. Parkinsonism is the name given to a collection of symptoms and signs consisting of tremor, stiffness, slowness of movement, and unsteady gait.

Many neurological disorders have features of parkinsonism, including many of the dementias. Progressive supranuclear palsy PSP. People with PSP usually show a group of three symptoms, including the gradual loss of balance and trouble walking, loss of control of voluntary eye movements, and dementia.

Although these features are considered to be the hallmarks of PSP, patients with this disorder also experience other symptoms common to degenerative diseases of the brain, including difficulties with movement, changes in behavior, and difficulty with speech and swallowing. However, its treatment response and clinical symptoms are different, making an accurate diagnosis very important.

Normal pressure hydrocephalus NPH. Gait instability, urinary incontinence, and dementia are the signs and symptoms typically found in patients who have NPH. Considered a rare cause of dementia, it primarily affects persons older than 60 years. The precise incidence of NPH is hard to determine because the condition does not have a formal, agreed-upon definition. Some physicians base the diagnosis strongly on radiographic evidence; another group of health care professionals relies more on clinical indications.

Still others use a combination of signs and symptoms that they have found to be reliable. Traditionally, treatment is surgical implantation of a shunt to reduce the pressure caused by the build up of cerebrospinal fluid. It is caused by a genetic mutation that can be passed down from generation to generation. HD is an illness with profound neurological and psychiatric features affecting certain structures deep within the brain, particularly the basal ganglia, responsible for such important functions as movement and coordination.