Diagnosis Flashcards, test questions and answers

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What is Diagnosis?

of DementiaDementia is a broad category of neurological disorders that cause a long-term and often gradual decline in cognitive abilities, including memory, language, problem solving, and decision making. Diagnosis of dementia involves gathering information from medical history, physical exam findings, laboratory tests (such as blood or urine tests), imaging scans (such as magnetic resonance imaging or computerized tomography), mental status evaluation (a series of questions to assess cognition), and neuropsychological testing. The first step in diagnosing dementia is typically an assessment by a physician based on the patient’s medical history and any symptoms they may be experiencing. The doctor may conduct physical exams to determine possible causes for the symptoms such as stroke or brain tumors. Laboratory tests may also be ordered to rule out other conditions such as vitamin deficiencies or thyroid problems that can mimic some of the signs of dementia. Imaging scans are used to view structures within the brain which can help identify areas of damage due to diseases like Alzheimer’s or vascular dementia. Additionally, mental status evaluations are used to assess whether there have been changes in cognition over time with respect to memory recall ability; judgment; concentration; reasoning; orientation; language skills; visuospatial skills; abstract thinking patterns; mood/personality changes; self-awareness/insight into deficits etc., A diagnosis cannot be made solely on these evaluations so it’s important for all potential underlying conditions mentioned previously (e.g., stroke) must be ruled out before reaching a conclusion about one having dementia or not. Neuropsychological testing provides more detailed information about specific areas affected by dementia such as memory function and executive functioning so results from this type of test provide valuable data when making a diagnosis. Also if someone has been diagnosed with another condition but still experiences cognitive problems then further investigation should occur with respect to possibilities related to early stages of dementias being present too such as Alzheimer’s disease etc..This could include use of Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) -which is a commonly used measure for assessing levels mental functioning across different aspects or various other measures depending upon what issues need exploring most closely e.g., clock drawing test looking at visuo-spatial skills). Ultimately though regardless whatever method employed understanding key presenting features will always remain critical part process determining likely presence some form ‘dementing illness’ thus leading towards definitive diagnostic outcomes being reached if appropriate evidence found support them i.e.