Question:
What are the most accurate test in diagnosing Dementia/Alzheimers?

My mother is 72 and has shown signs for about 4 years but she is under no treatment for the disease. I would like to know if there are tests that can be performed to tell us what is going on in her brain. She seems to understand what is said to her most of the time and seems very aware of her condition. She is frustrated and can't seem to say what she wants. My father and I are not satisfied and want to know what we can do to help her. There are too many articles and reports on new treatments but we don't really know where to start. My mother is a retired RN and we know in our hearts that there are things that we can do to help her live a normal life. She is very aware of her condition but is unable to tell us certain things because of her confusion and difficulty saying what she wants to say. The thought is there but the words are not.

Answer: Unfortunately there isn't any real way of diagnosing Alzheimer's. Mostly it is based on presentation such as confusion, dementia, forgetfullness. Most Imaging exams only exclude other possibilities and help rule in Alzheimer's. as stated earlier, the only real way is an autopsy, where they will actually find specific protiens in the nuerons. Be as that may, there isn't a cure and the treatment is only supportive. Acetyl-Choline esterase Inhibitors have been found to be useful in decreasing the demetia by increasing the nuerotransmitters in the synaptic clef and allowing longer firing of Nuerons.

Autopsy is the for-sure way, as someone else said, to know that the person had Alzheimer's.That said, there are many tests which rule out everything else, and when all that's left is Alzheimer's, that's the diagnosis.First the doctor will give a series of cognitive tests (memory questions). If the person shows impairment, the next step is blood work to make sure it's not a vitamin deficiency or other physical problem that can be fixed. After that, brain scans. When my dad's brain scan came back showing his brain was atrophied, that was when the diagnosis of "Alzheimer's" was formally applied.There are medicines which help, and the sooner the person gets on them, the better.