Evaluation For Treatemnt Of Dementia

September 24, 2007

Large numbers of patients presenting symptoms of dementia have been evaluated to determine the frequency of treatable forms. These studies have found that from 10 to 20 percent of persons with symptoms of dementia have underlying diseases for which specific treatments exist. It is the physician’s first responsibility to identify those individuals with potentially reversible forms of dementia. Though the cost of performing a medical screen is not cheap, this examination is substantially less than the cost of a nursing home. In addition, the possibility of finding a disease which, if treated, would return the patient to a more normal mental state fully warrants the cost and the effort.

Useful Laboratory Tests

Following the history and physical examination, a battery of laboratory tests is performed, the purpose of which is to gain additional diagnostic information. The laboratory tests may have been prompted by the history or the physical examination, or they may simply be conducted to exclude the possibility of a particular disorder. Llaboratory tests that may be used to uncover more treatable forms of dementia.

Other laboratory tests such as cerebral angiography, skull X-rays, serum ammonia, scinticisternography (a radioactive agent is injected into the spinal fluid to determine if occult hydrocephalous exists), and nuclear brain scans may be performed.

Posted in Medical Aspects