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.