Do I Really Want to Know If I Have Alzheimer's?

The answer is "yes." An estimated 5.3 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's Disease, the majority -- 5.1 million -- over the age of sixty five. Research suggests that less than 35 percent of people with Alzheimer's or other dementias are properly diagnosed. Early diagnosis is crucial for many reasons, including:

1) There are medications available today that can reduce symptoms in many people -- at least temporarily -- and improve the daily lives of patients. There are also trials of new drugs that researchers hope will slow or stop the underlying processes that cause Alzheimer's in the first place.

2) Knowing what's going on can lessen anxiety and allow for planning -- not only for patients but for their families, friends, and caregivers.

3) Although Alzheimer's causes 60-80 percent of dementia in patients over 65, there are other causes that need to be considered, especially potentially reversible ones due to medications, alcohol, low thyroid, low B12, depression, and infections. Dementia can also be caused by tumors, increased pressure, blood clots and other abnormalities within the head itself that can be detected by a CT or MRI of the brain. And patients with "vascular dementia" due to problems such as multiple small strokes (that may not have caused any other symptoms) can be treated with measures that include medications and lifestyle adjustments to lower their cardiovascular risk.

The Alzheimer's Association is a terrific resource for information about Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Its website includes ten warning signs for Alzheimer's Disease.

Comments

[Uselessboy]

I'd also want to know if it was dementia but not Alzheimer's.

We're dealing with one in the family that is very merciful. There actually is such a thing.

[standish]

The answer is "yes" with a major proviso: Make sure the diagnosis of Alzheimer's is accurate. I think a diagnosis of Alzheimer's is too often a catchall decision on the part of some doctors, much like ADD is for children: a simple way of explaining away a complex set of symptoms. In the case of my mother, she began showing signs of confusion and memory loss and speech impairment several years ago. Her husband, who was a geriatrics MD of all things, simply said she had Alzherimer's and it would only get progressively worse. In actuality, my mother (who was 82 at the time) was depressed and medicating herself with alcohol becuase my stepfather was dying of cancer. I took over as caregiver for her and made sure she took her medications (Aricept and Namenda) which she had been doing haphazardly and worked with her through her husband's eventual death. After trips to several neurologists and several MRI's it was determined she had actually had a stroke and was suffering from aphasia. WIth speech therapy and a lot of love for my mom, she has stabilized at the age of 85. If we had followed the advice of some of her doctors, she would have been put in the Alzheimer's unit of a nursing home and would have withered away and not be alive and vital today.

[traveler501]

I have experienced this multiple times...all in all, help them get by and keep them comfortable...the only real problems occur at the end when they can become mean and childish. It's good to have care for them at that point.

[ckdogs]

The drugs cause significant side effects, and do litle good. I'm not sure there is any advantage to early detection, at this time.

[viewfromuphere]

really....my own father is functioning and lives at home with his wife entirely because the medications have worked well for him so far.

it isn't going to be forever and we know that but for right now he has a very good quality of life and that's really the only important thing...

what's the point discouraging people when every dementia situation is not the same....

[Thundrdrum]

As a healthcare professional, I can attest to the importance of early diagnosis and medications which enable people to stay in their own homes and maintain good qualities of life.

Sticking your head in the sand only ensures the "sooner-than-later" scenario when there are fewer alternatives to combat this terrible disease.

[WilliePilgrim]

I had my dad diagnosed by a psychologist who supposedly specialized in identifying Alz...and by a researcher involved in a major alz research progra. They both gave the same test, which was the same test his regular family doctor gave him. What was it? You know. It was a list of 20 questions having to do with memory. Both of the specialists said it was Alz...the family practitioner said it was more likely vascular.
My suggestion is to do a lot of research for yourself. Read Science Daily...almost without exception new discoveries are being found every week which have enormous potential to turn things around, though I have to wonder if the researchers will recognize it considering how invested they are in their research.
So...what ever happened to the high gravity spinally injected anti-inflammatory drugs that were showing such astonishing and immediate results just last year? It was reported in a number of publications.
Furthermore: I read where the brain scans of an equal number of alz/demential patients and normal people of equal age were taken and presented to neurologists who were asked to determine by looking at the scans which were and weren't suffering. The result? No better than chance.
Thanks for this series of perspectives, Doc.

[KataVideo]

On the other hand, if you wait long enough, you won't care too much. I got a friend who's starting to slip, and I don't know if his wife realizes it. But he sure doesn't. He doesn't seem to know that things are changing.

[RobinSeattle]

"Do I Really Want to Know If I Have Alzheimer's?"

At some point you would forget the fact anyway, so it's kind of a wash. *lol

More seriously, though, there seems to be some preliminary indications that the ravages of Alzheimer's can be slowed somewhat by staying both socially and mentally active. For example, my 67 year old mom is from a family that has a history of it (though fortunately for us it usually doesn't set in until about age 80), so she keeps active by playing bridge three times a week and she does crosswords and online quizzes everyday as well as reads. I'm hoping that will help hold the disease off. The main thing is just to keep the mental stimulation and engagement coming.

I hope this may help some folks. but it is only preliminary at this point. However, you just never know what treatments or routines can help some people.

[GayStereotype]

Yes, mentally and emotionally activity are very important. But don't forget physical activity: exercise.

[Middle-Eighth]

My mother started showing signs of dementia in early 2000, and by 2001 it was pretty clear she was going downhill, but my father and I couldn't get her to the doctor for a formal diagnosis--she absolutely refused to go. (I found out later from her hairdresser that she was indeed aware that something was happening to her brain, but she was terrified of knowing that it was permanent.)

We ended up having to trick her into going in 2002, taking advantage of her regular doctor's sabbatical to have her new doctor personally invite her to introduce herself to him. Sure enough, it was Alzheimer's, or something so similar as to make no real difference. By that time, she was so far gone that the doctor told us it was really too late for Aricept to help her.

Tricking your loved one may seem cruel, but it's much crueler to watch him/her deteriorate with no hope of even temporary symptom amelioration.

[23000Days]

Thanks for the article, Doctor. My father-in-law at 85, is becoming more and more demented, but the mother-in-law is in denial. We're trying so hard to get her to realize the truth and seek help, both for him and for herself.