Relying on clinical symptoms of memory loss to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease may miss other forms of dementia caused by Alzheimer’s that don’t initially affect memory, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.
There is more than one kind of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s can cause language problems, disrupt an individual’s behavior, personality and judgment or even affect someone’s concept of where objects are in space.
If it affects personality, it may cause lack of inhibition. “Someone who was very shy may go up to grocery store clerk — who is a stranger — and try to give her a hug or kiss,” Rogalski said.
This all depends on what part of the brain it attacks. A definitive diagnosis can only be achieved with an autopsy. Emerging evidence suggests an amyloid PET scan, an imaging test that tracks the presence of amyloid — an abnormal protein whose accumulation in the brain is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s — may be used during life to determine the likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease pathology.
Full story is available from Northwestern University website.
There is more than one kind of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s can cause language problems, disrupt an individual’s behavior, personality and judgment or even affect someone’s concept of where objects are in space.
If it affects personality, it may cause lack of inhibition. “Someone who was very shy may go up to grocery store clerk — who is a stranger — and try to give her a hug or kiss,” Rogalski said.
This all depends on what part of the brain it attacks. A definitive diagnosis can only be achieved with an autopsy. Emerging evidence suggests an amyloid PET scan, an imaging test that tracks the presence of amyloid — an abnormal protein whose accumulation in the brain is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s — may be used during life to determine the likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease pathology.
Full story is available from Northwestern University website.
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