About this app
Diagnosis
A key component of a diagnostic assessment is self-reporting about symptoms, as well as the information that a close family member or friend can provide about symptoms and their impact on daily life. Additionally, a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is based on tests your doctor administers to assess memory and thinking skills.
Laboratory and imaging tests can rule out other potential causes or help the doctor better characterize the disease causing dementia symptoms.
The entire set of diagnostic tools is designed to detect dementia and determine with relatively high accuracy whether Alzheimer's disease or another condition is the cause. Alzheimer's disease can be diagnosed with complete certainty after death, when microscopic examination of the brain reveals the characteristic plaques and tangles.
Tests
A diagnostic work-up would likely include the following tests:
Physical and neurological exam
Your doctor will perform a physical exam and likely assess overall neurological health by testing the following:
Reflexes
Muscle tone and strength
Ability to get up from a chair and walk across the room
Sense of sight and hearing
Coordination
Balance
Lab tests
Blood tests may help your doctor rule out other potential causes of memory loss and confusion, such as a thyroid disorder or vitamin deficiencies.
Mental status and neuropsychological testing
Your doctor may conduct a brief mental status test or a more extensive set of tests to assess memory and other thinking skills. Longer forms of neuropsychological testing may provide additional details about mental function compared with people of a similar age and education level. These tests are also important for establishing a starting point to track the progression of symptoms in the future.
Treatment
Drugs
Current Alzheimer's medications can help for a time with memory symptoms and other cognitive changes. Two types of drugs are currently used to treat cognitive symptoms:
Cholinesterase inhibitors. These drugs work by boosting levels of cell-to-cell communication by preserving a chemical messenger that is depleted in the brain by Alzheimer's disease. The improvement is modest.
Cholinesterase inhibitors may also improve neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as agitation or depression. Commonly prescribed cholinesterase inhibitors include donepezil (Aricept), galantamine (Razadyne) and rivastigmine (Exelon).
The main side effects of these drugs include diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite and sleep disturbances. In people with cardiac conduction disorders, serious side effects may include cardiac arrhythmia.
Memantine (Namenda). This drug works in another brain cell communication network and slows the progression of symptoms with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease. It's sometimes used in combination with a cholinesterase inhibitor. Relatively rare side effects include dizziness and confusion.
Sometimes other medications such as antidepressants may be prescribed to help control the behavioral symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease.
Creating a safe and supportive environment
Adapting the living situation to the needs of a person with Alzheimer's disease is an important part of any treatment plan. For someone with Alzheimer's, establishing and strengthening routine habits and minimizing memory-demanding tasks can make life much easier.
You can take these steps to support a person's sense of well-being and continued ability to function:
Always keep keys, wallets, mobile phones and other valuables in the same place at home, so they don't become lost.
Keep medications in a secure location. Use a daily checklist to keep track of dosages.
Arrange for finances to be on automatic payment and automatic deposit.
Carry a mobile phone with location capability so that a caregiver can track its location. Program important phone numbers into the phone.
Make sure regular appointments are on the same day at the same time as much as possible.
