Diagnosing Dementia: Second Part
The second part of the test probes someone close to the patient and includes six questions to find out whether the patient has:
- become less able to remember recent events or conversations
- begun struggling to find the right words or using inappropriate ones
- found difficulty managing money or medications
- needed more help with transport (without the reason being, for example, injury)
- If the test does suggest memory loss, standard investigations are then recommended, including routine blood tests and a CT brain scan.
Clinical tests will identify, or rule out, treatable causes of memory loss and help to narrow down potential causes, such as Alzheimer's disease.
The mini-mental state examination (MMSE) is a cognitive test which measures:
- orientation to time and place
- word recall
- language abilities
- attention and calculation
- visuospatial skills
The MMSE is used to help diagnose dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease and also to rate its severity and whether drug treatment is needed.
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