Alzheimer Diagnosis Test

By present there is not a single test or method that can determine whether a patient has Alzheimer's disease or not. The clinical criteria in use combine multiple tests which help to get a maximum accuracy. These assessments generally cover physical, mental, genetic, blood and brain imaging tests. Recent data show that a blood test conducted on certain marker-proteins such as amyloid and APOE, seems to be promising to help diagnose early-stage Alzheimer, by a research group from University of Nottingham.

 Conventional Alzheimer test includes:

1. Physical test:

Reflexes
Coordination, muscle tone and strength
Eye movement
Speech
Sensation

2. Blood test: Amyloid and APOE

3. Genetic test: APOE-e4 and ADAD

4. Mental test:Mental status testing evaluates memory, ability to solve simple problems and other thinking skills. Such tests give an overall sense of whether a person:

• Is aware of symptoms
• Knows the date, time, and where he or she is
• Can remember a short list of words, follow instructions and do simple calculations

What is dementia?

Dementia is a combination of symptoms that are caused by disorders affecting the brain and everyday behaviours. There may be a decline in memory, language skills, understanding, spatial skills, judgement and attention. Over time people with dementia worsen and may have problems controlling their emotions or behavior, and change in personality, and eventually apathetic to their surroundings.

Types of dementia:

• Alzheimer's disease (the most common form of dementia)
• Vascular dementia
• Lewy body disease
• Frontotemporal dementia
• Mixed dementia, where more than one disease affects the brain, is also very common.