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What does neuropsychological testing involve?
Posted By Anthony Komaroff, M.D. On September 25, 2014 @ In Alzheimer's Disease,Memory,Mental Health | Comments Disabled
My husband’s doctor suspects that he has Alzheimer’s disease and wants him to have neuropsychological testing. What will these tests involve?
There is no single test that can diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, a doctor cannot make the diagnosis with absolute confidence without studying the brain under the microscope, which is rarely done except in an autopsy.
Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed presumptively by a combination of different types of evidence. The disease typically has a slowly progressive onset. Sudden confusion or speech problems, for example, are not caused by Alzheimer’s.
Indeed, a very important part of making a presumptive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is first ruling out many other causes of thinking problems. Other conditions, such as a brain tumor, can impair a person’s thinking. So can certain medicines.
When doctors suspect that a person may be developing Alzheimer’s disease, they often perform multiple tests to evaluate different aspects of thinking. The tests may involve paper and pencil, or may be administered by interacting with a computer:
Neuropsych testing cannot, alone, definitively diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. However, the testing results, along with the medical history, brain-imaging studies and other evidence, can give the doctor pretty strong evidence for or against Alzheimer’s. I hope the testing turns out in your husband’s favor.
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