Evaluation

Anyone with significant memory loss or signs of dementia should have a complete medical evaluation that includes a review of past medical problems, current medications, an examination that tests memory and cognition as well as looks for signs of neurological disease. Routine diagnostic evaluations include several blood tests and brain imaging, with either a computed assisted tomography (CAT) scan or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.

In selected patients, the clinic will coordinate more formal testing of cognition with neuropsychological tests, assist in genetic counseling for families with inherited disorders, make referrals to community services, area agencies and support groups and inform patients of clinical trials that they may be able to participate in. In some patients, a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) may be needed as part of a diagnostic evaluation of normal pressure hydrocephalus and in other patients a positron emission tomography (PET) scan may be needed to diagnose frontotemporal dementia. All of these additional services can be provided or facilitated by the Memory Disorders Clinic.