Another important reason to get a diagnosis is to identify the actual cause of the dementia so that your loved one receives the proper care. Dementia related to depression, drug interaction, thyroid problems, and certain vitamin deficiencies, for example, may be reversible if detected early. Other causes of dementia include strokes, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's disease and are not reversible.

Common Tests

There is no one diagnostic test that can detect if a person has Alzheimer's disease. Standard clinical methods combine physical and neuropsychological testing with caregiver input and the physician's judgment, and the diagnostic process may take more than one day. New diagnostic tools and criteria make it possible for physicians to make a positive clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's with around 90 percent accuracy.

The diagnostic process will involve your physician and possibly other specialty physicians, such as a psychiatrist or neurologist