How to Test for Alzheimer's Disease

There is no single test to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, and other conditions must be ruled out first. A well-trained doctor can make a correct diagnosis 90 percent of the time. Knowing your own symptoms and sharing them with your doctor can help lead to early detection.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Know the Symptoms of Alzheimer's

1. Know the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, such as unusual behavior, loss of initiative, wandering, disorientation, speech problems, forgetfulness and problems with numbers.
2. Learn to distinguish between normal, age-related forgetfulness and Alzheimer's symptoms at the Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation website.

Know What to Expect When You Test for Alzheimer's

3. Talk to your doctor. Some doctors routinely test patients for Alzheimer's disease after the age of 70. Diagnosis can be difficult and may take several visits during which doctors will ask questions that will help them ascertain mental ability. Red flags would include evidence of a patient's inability to plan, loss of interest in a favorite activity or trouble remembering when to take medication.
4. Expect a complete physical exam and review of your medical history to rule out other conditions that share symptoms with Alzheimer's, such as depression, epilepsy and side effects of medication or alcohol.
5. Know that the most telling sign of Alzheimer's is a rapid rate of decline in abilities between visits.
6. Take physician-administered mental status tests establishing memory functions, word comprehension, orientation and attention span. Questions cover basic topics like time and date or the person's name and age. The doctor may also ask the patient to name items in the room.
7. Expect additional tests asking the patient to count backwards from 100 by 7s.
8. Know that more extensive tests will cover recent memory about people and events in his present life and long-term memory centered on past events.
9. Establish judgment skills through tests in which the physician gives the patient a basic situation and asks what he or she would do.
10. Find out about tests like EEGs, CAT scans and MRIs which are used to rule out other conditions at Guide4Living.com.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't prepare for tests. Doctors need an honest answer to make the correct diagnosis.
• Know that Alzheimer's-related forgetfulness may involve getting lost in your neighborhood and forgetting how to perform daily tasks.

Who Can Help: