Is An Alzheimer’s Memory Test Enough to Diagnose?
May 4th, 2010Alzheimer’s Disease is a very complex condition. In an effort to quickly diagnose the disease, some may use an alzheimer’s memory test to attempt to discern whether someone is suffering from the condition or not. But, how reliable are these test?
To make a long story short, an alzheimer’s memory test is not enough to accurately diagnose a patient. Even though there are a certain number of very common memory functions that may seem to lead to a positive diagnosis, much testing is needed to truly understand what condition someone may be suffering from. There are to many other conditions that have symptoms in common with AD to be able to tell quickly.
For instance, an alzheimer’s memory test may be given to someone who is suffering from early dementia – the results may seem to point to an AD diagnosis but that would not be the case. Parkinson’s Disease is another example of an illness that may resemble Alzheimer’s, but is something completely different.
The test for AD needs to go much further than simply asking questions about memory. There are other symptoms of the condition including mood changes and personality changes. The only type of person that can make a completely accurate diagnosis of AD is the patient’s physician.
If you feel like a loved one may be suffering from this debilitating disease, it is important that you act quickly. If it is diagnosed early, there are medications that may help slow down the progression of the disease. It can sometimes be an uncomfortable subject to bring up, but if you truly care about someone you owe it to them to bring the topic of AD up to them, expecially because they may not be able to see that they are suffering from common symptoms.