Alzheimer's Disease: Diagnosis
Genetic testing for Alzheimer's is still in its infancy stages. Until it is further developed, Alzheimer's will continue to be diagnosed through a process of elimination to rule out other diseases and conditions that cause memory loss. For example, small, undetected strokes can cause similar dementia by temporarily interrupting blood flow to the brain. In addition, many older people are on multiple medications that may impair their ability to think clearly.

To help distinguish Alzheimer's from other causes of memory loss, doctors typically rely on the following:

• Medical history and family discussions.
• Basic blood and urine tests.
• Mental status tests to evaluate memory, problem-solving abilities, attention spans, counting skills and language.
• Brain scans, such as computerized tomography (CT scan), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), to pinpoint any visible abnormalities.

These methods help doctors accurately diagnose 90% of Alzheimer's cases. Alzheimer's can only be diagnosed with 100% accuracy from a brain autopsy after a person has died.