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Alzheimer's
Awareness Month

Testing helps make a diagnosis
and support is there for families.

Lynn Breuer I Special to the Jewish News

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ementia is the second most
common diagnosis given to
older adults — and perhaps the
most difficult to accept. As November is
National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness
Month and National Caregiver Month,
the time is right to address some of the
most frequently asked questions we
at ElderCare Solutions of Michigan at
Jewish Family Service hear regarding
dementia.
What exactly is dementia and how is
it diagnosed?
Dementia is an umbrella category that
serves as a catch-all for different types of
cognitive disorders, ranging from short-
or long-term memory loss to more
specific diagnoses, including the most
common type of dementia, Alzheimer's
disease. Alzheimer's is caused by damage
to the brain's nerve cells. According to
the Alzheimer's Association, symptoms
may include:
• Memory loss that disrupts daily life
• Difficulty completing familiar tasks
• Confusion with time or place
• Trouble understanding visual images
and spatial relationships
• Difficulty communicating
• Misplacing things and losing the
ability to retrace steps
• Decreased or poor judgment
• Withdrawal from work or social
activities

• Changes in mood and personality
Vascular dementia is the second most
common type of dementia, which occurs
when clots block blood flow to parts of
the brain.
Dementia diagnoses are usually made
by combining someone's history and
experiences with some type of testing
so that objective evidence and observed
functioning together form the basis for
the diagnosis. MRIs or other brain scans
are helpful to identify vascular dementia
and rule out physical causes for cognitive
difficulties, such as brain tumors.
More extensive neurological and psy-
chological testing is available and can
provide objective measures of cognitive
abilities and identify specific areas of
strengths as well as deficits.
Cognitive screening tools, however,
are available to anyone, regardless of
history of symptoms, and at a very low
cost. Screening tools are designed to
help people identify whether or not a
more thorough evaluation is necessary,
and scores are broken down into three
distinct categories of normal, mild cog-
nitive impairment (MCI) or dementia.
Cognitive screening is a great place to
start, but it is important to remember
the results may not be conclusive. For
example, if someone's score results in
a determination of MCI, it would be
important to follow up with more in-

continued on page 46

44 November 26 2015