Alzheimer's Disease: An Overview

Tests for Alzheimer's Disease

Talking to your doctor about Alzheimer's can be frightening. Often individuals with the disease hesitate to tell anyone about their symptoms for fear of being pigeonholed or simply hearing bad news. However, it is crucial to diagnose Alzheimer's disease as soon as possible: The earlier intervention begins, the sooner the disease can be slowed.

The good news is, tests for Alzheimer's disease are generally painless and many of them can be done by your general practitioner. In the following, we discuss tests for Alzheimer's and how a diagnosis is reached.

Tests for Alzheimer's Disease

The only way to diagnose Alzheimer's disease for certain is to do an autopsy to check for changes in the brain.^[1] However, doctors can usually diagnose Alzheimer's disease by asking questions about someone's overall health and changes in behavior and personality. They also conduct tests of memory, problem solving, attention, counting and language. They may test blood, urine, or spinal fluid and do CT scans or MRIs of the brain. Doctors may also look for changes over time in these tests. They need to rule out other problems that may look like Alzheimer's disease such as thyroid problems, depression, brain tumors, drug reactions, and blood-vessel disease in the brain.

This Elder Health Guide was published on August 1, 2009 and was updated on November 2, 2009.