Better Dementia Detection Is Urged

A panel of Alzheimer's disease experts is recommending new guidelines for checking people for signs of the disease during routine medical examinations, reports the Associated Press . A 2015 report from the Alzheimer's Association suggested only about 50 percent of people being treated for Alzheimer's were informed of a positive diagnosis by their healthcare provider. The National Institute on Aging's Nina Silverberg notes although Medicare recently began covering mental assessments as part of the annual wellness visit, doctors are not required to do it, and they lack guidance on doing it. The panel's guidance outlines what action health staff should take if people describe worrisome symptoms, including checking for risk factors that may contribute to dementia or other brain diseases, such as family history, heart disease, and head injuries; pen-and-pencil memory tests; and imaging tests to identify small strokes or brain injuries that could be causing memory problems. The University of Nebraska Medical Center's Dr. Michael Sitorius says he gives his older care recipients mental evaluations at their annual checkups, but sometimes they or their loved ones do not want to hear the results. In such cases, Sitorius still addresses related issues such as depression, safeguarding medication, nutrition, and whether recipients should continue driving. He says the new guidelines are a welcome reminder for family physicians to deal with these issues earlier.