Madeline SchwartzForgetful! It's Serious?
May 28th 2007 17:50
to determine the cause. Many conditions can cause these symptoms, including side effects from medication, thyroid disorders, nutritional deficiencies, alcoholism, infections, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, strokes, brain tumors, and head injuries. Some of these conditions are treatable or reversible. Getting the right diagnosis can lead to getting the appropriate care.
There is no one diagnostic test to determine the cause of dementia-like behavior. A comprehensive clinical evaluation should be performed. This type of evaluation
includes a complete medical history and physical examination, a neurological examination, a mental status evaluation, and laboratory tests including blood tests and
urinalysis, an electro-cardiogram (EKG) and a chest x-ray.
Other tests such as an EEG (electroencephalogram that measures brain wave activity), a CT scan (which takes x-ray images of the brain, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
may be done, as well. In addition, a psychiatric evaluation can rule out the presence of depression, which can result in memory loss similar to dementia. Neuropsychological tests may be done to test memory, reasoning, writing, vision-motor coordination, and the ability to express ideas.
This type of complete evaluation may be obtained by the family physician in collaboration with specialists, but for “one-stop shopping” it can be done through one of the geriatric assessment centers listed on the next pages. You can make the appointment yourself.
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