Caring for Your Parents: Diagnosing Dementia
ANCHORAGE - A diagnosis of Alzheimer's is a frightening thing and something most of us hope we will never hear. But the truth is, if we live long enough, the odds are pretty good that we may get some form of dementia.
Susan Barrickman knows all too well what it means to live with the fear of Alzheimer's. She’s been worried most of her adult life that she carries the genes for a rare inherited form of the disease that has devastated five generations of her family.
Barrickman has lost two of her siblings, her father and dozens more in the generations before him.
Researchers say the genetic form of the disease the family has is very rare, only about 1 percent of all Alzheimer's cases. But they also say if we live long enough, many more of us could be at risk.
“The truth of the matter is, the biggest risk factor is just aging,” says neurologist Franklin Ellenson. “If you live to be 85, there’s about a 50 percent chance that you are going to have Alzheimer's disease.”
An MRI can rule out other possibilities like a stroke or a tumor. The scan will show areas of the brain that have shrunk or “atrophied,” another tell-tale sign. Ellenson says a patient’s recent history is critical for a diagnosis. Significant memory loss combined with an inability to perform tasks that were once routine.
“For example, you pay the electric bill two or three times. Or you put the stamp on the envelope and never mail it. You have four steps to make a meal and you leave it in the oven and burn your food. It has to be more than just being forgetful, you have to have other cognitive issues as well.”
But while Ellenson says doctors can do a good job of diagnosing Alzheimer's, treating it is a different story. He’s hoping that will change in the future.
“I believe in the next few decades there are going to be therapies we can’t even imagine or are just starting to imagine now. But for right now I try to encourage patients and their family members to increase their quality of life at this point, and not worry about things they can’t control.”
As for Susan Barrickman, she recently learned that she does not carry the gene for inherited Alzheimer's.
She says it was a huge relief for her but also for her children because it means they don’t have it either. Her niece however is still at risk and won’t find out what her future holds until she’s in her mid-40s.
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