6 Kinds of Alzheimer's Tests: Pros and Cons

Photo01, Tremors can be normal. And so can forgetfulness. You can go to https://www.nimh.nih.gov/and google tremors and learn more. But I would call your physician and see if he can see you. Good luck!

I am a 77 year old male and I came to this site through a Google search. For as long as I can remember I have joked (when forgetting or loosing track of some misplaced object), "It's that damn Alzheimer's" or "...Old- timer's disease." Now recently, a few things have me very concerned (yeah, worried). • I was typing something for my kayak fishing club and put the year date on it as 2012. That did not seem right, but I really could not remember what year it was and had to go find the morning paper to look that it was in fact 2015. • I bought some vegetables at the market, brought them home, and went to prepare them and could not remember how I had done it in the past. I called my wife (we are separated and I live alone) and she did not know how I had been doing them but gave me the idea to do them in the steamer she had recently given me. I fixed them in the steamer and eating them reminded me how they tasted, but I still have no idea about how I used to fix them. • While doing some woodworking in the back yard, I developed a very noticeable hand shake. Holding both hands out in front of me, I could see both hands were shaking and I had no control over that. The "hands shaking" has been happening a few more times now. • While setting up a fishing trip for our kayak fishing club I called my son for help and he told me that I was thinking all wrong. It is too complex to put here, but it was disturbing that I could not remember some simple fishing ideas. Should I be concerned?

Hi Paula, thanks for the info. I wonder if you have heard of the BCAT? It is the brief cognitive assessment tool and is far more objective than any test mentioned. It has been normed against the MMSE, MoCA, SLUMMS etc. It is tremendously reliable and objective. I am a nurse who is licensed to administer the BCAT and it is associated with a tested rehab system that I also perform. Check it out at: thebcat.com

I was curious about my risk of developing early-onset Alzheimers, so was genetically tested by 23andMe for a very reasonable price. They test for many possible conditions as well as ancestry, the fun part. I have the worst possible combination of alleles with nearly 50% likelihood of developing early-onset. It is a relief to know because I can watch for signs and make plans, if necessary. Fortunately, at age 64, there are none.

My husband had a severe hemorraghic stroke 7 years. i have been looking for a Dr who would be caring to assess whether he has suffered another stroke. His demeanor has changed somehat. He is exhibiting speech difficulties again. Aphasia, I call it. He now has more trouble standing and moving with a walker. and most of all a severe shaking or tremor with his right hand and leg. Most of these new" symptoms have occured within the last 3 months. He had a C-scan without contrast which showed no perceptible change from the last C-scan--About a year ago. I made an appointment with a Neurologst at our family doctor's reccomendation. We saw him Thurs, Oct.25th. He seemed more interested in telling me that my husband did not have a hemorrachic stroke. but a bleed instead. How would he know?

everything I just read was very helpful to me and very intresting also. It seems to have put a name on my mothers behavior loss of memory and loss of time, she remembers things from back in the day but can not remember what she just said. We r making a doc's appt ASAP to run a few test thank you so much.

My DAD is 92, has for the last 10 years declined in most of HIS skills,when HE lost the use of HIS legs we were told poll-grip dentures adhesive was causing the brain to have heavy metal poisoning,Now on the label it is safer.Has all the signs of ALZHEIMER,but was being poisoned!?!?!? My advice to a care giver is check their adhesive,or similar intakes.

With so much media coverage now about Alzheimer's Disease discoveries, it's difficult to keep track of what is research and what is being used in clinicians' offices to initiate a diagnoses of Alzheimer Dementia. The article is very imformative. Thank you.

After the initial Dx has been made future testing is a waste of money. What is the relevance of knowing a stage #? Treatment is limited to reacting to and precribing meds to reduce the symptoms in order to make both the patient and caregivers life more tolerable. That's why it's called in curable

Testing after initial Dx is a stressful waste of time. The caregiver knows more about the progression of the disease than any test will reveal The MD can only do several things. a. add pages to the patients chart b. react to charges in symptoms by prescribing new meds c fill out forms req by SS, State Medicare, Insurance, etc d bill the provider There are a select few meds available to Md's, none of which can do more than ease the journey for both patient and caregiver, so I see no reason to put either through the rigors and stress of testing after the orig. Dx

"Demented vs Dementia....I used these two words in a sentence saying "A family member was quoted as being Demented....meaning Dementia." Is this an incorrect statement?. How are the two words related?

I also my have to fine a different neurologist...for some reason the neurologists in this area are just, "Oh he has dementia"...and that is that...I am really disappointed in their attitude and have to wait for cancellations to be seen. Very frustrated!!!

Learning that I will have to get my spouse on a clinical trial to get further help.

To know there is other test they can run were I know what to actpeckt

PS: Sorry, but my neuro referred me to a specxialist here in NY, but he has no time for new patients till 5/2012. I had previously started andfound out the info to try the Mayo clinic to see if I could see and get a consultation and/or appointment. As there are actually other issues tied in to the above does anyone who is more well traveled in these paths than I have any suggestions, seriously. My experience was with my mother who was in her late 70's when her symptoms started. I am 53 and this may POSSIBLY be a whole different ballgame thanks

Its going to sound a lot like one of those Geico commercials, but all this information looks like it is possibly going to save me a lot of money. Figuring that I had a PET/CT scan with radioactive glucose in December, 2010 and just recently in August, 2011 and that the results showed a distinct change in the level of my brain's activity. It has apparently gotten lazier. When in 12/10, I was informed that my right hemisphere was showing decreased activity to the left, this time, the right was still getting worse, but now the left was showing signs of decrease activity also. Just not as bad as the right side...Whew, almost thought that was bad news for a second. Than my neuro read more of the report and noticed that it said the temporal lobes were also slowed and to which he replied to me, look, there is almost no activity at all. I don't mean it is brain dead, its just a considerable small amount of activity. so, I figure with that info in my pocket, there may be some trials out there for a 53 y/o male who until recently had some cognitive issues from thought to be multiple TBI's, or at one time MS as I have brain lesions. so it looks like I will also now be saving $ by not having to pay the Medicare 20% on any imaging studies.. Woo Hoo...this must be my lucky day. When is the next flight to Vegas. I wonder if I can get a room with my mom? After all, up until February, 2011, I spent the past years at home taking care of her and my poor moms health with late stage AD. Isn't life grand?

Hello mom-o, Thank you very much for your comment! You may find some useful information on this Ask & Answer page: ( http://www.caring.com/questions/my-mother-85-years-old-has-been-living-with-us-for-a ). I hope that helps! Take care -- Emily | Community Manager

Extremely helpful!! Do I carry him to a neurologist? How do I find one? O r did I just ask the doctor to refer me somewhere?

Chris Baum VanRyzin: I was curious myself so I posed your question to Lisa Gwyther, a Duke social worker and coauthor with Dr. Murali Doraiswamy of the Alzheimer's Action Plan (also a regular Caring.com adviser). She affirms that most research scientists are reluctant to give individual results of tests of new biomarkers as they don't entirely know what they mean or how to interpret them or even if the tests are reliable and valid. They do know how to interpret MRIs and they will generally give you cognitive testing results if they think there has been a change or decline in your performance. Also: "Few investigators will give individual testing results, especially when the studies are testing potential biomarkers or genetic susceptibility markers (especially in the absence of trained genetic counselors who know how and how much can be interpreted from your individual findings)." They generally share the general group findings. I hope these insights help... ,

All of it. You can't even imagine. Extremely informative. Extremely well written.

Super useful rundown of tests. This will be a big help when I do SWIMMING SOLO events. SWIMMING SOLO tells our family's Alzheimer's caregiving journey with my parents and my husband's parents. People are thirsty for our lived experiences and ask many questions for which I need concise, clear answers. Check out my website www.susanrava.com for more info about my memoir.

I suggest that you contact the Sticht Center at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC http://www.wakehealth.edu/Research/Roena-B--Kulynych-Center-for-Memory-and-Cognition-Research.htm They provide you info on their research and/or direct you to other research in this area,

Hi, As a person with cognitive challenges who has a desire to have a number of the advanced tests and genetic testing done that you describe, I have gone through research as you suggest. I have however, not been able to get any results either given to myself or my doctor. If you personally know of a place/research study that gives results to the participants, please post this or email me personally. I would love to have answers that we as a family are unable to attain. We have been limited to basic MRI's. Thank you.