Clinical assessment for patients suspected of having dementia requires medical experience, as well as a personal knowledge of the patient. Laypeople concerned about friends and family members can use diagnostic screening tests to see if risk factors for dementia are present. If they are, the results of the dementia assessment should be brought to the attention of the patient's primary care physician. The physician can review the results and decide whether a clinical dementia assessment needs to be performed.
Dementia is a decline in cognitive function. It can be caused by a number of different things, including treatable conditions, and more commonly onsets in older adults. The purpose of a dementia assessment is to see if a patient's cognitive abilities have declined, and to create a baseline for future assessments. These assessments can be used to see if a patient is responding to treatment and to monitor the progress of untreatable dementia.
A dementia assessment designed for laypeople can often be obtained from a doctor's office or a medical education website designed to provide people with information about dementia. The assessment will consist of a series of questions designed to identify examples of cognitive decline. The better someone knows the subject of the dementia assessment, the more reliable the results of the assessment will be, as accuracy relies on long term observations and familiarity with the subject.
If a basic assessment suggests someone may be at risk for dementia, a more expanded clinical evaluation can be conducted. This will include physical and neurological examinations. The doctor will also use a more extensive dementia assessment developed for clinical use. Since diagnosis of dementia relies on identifying changes in behavior over time, it is important for the patient to be evaluated by a familiar doctor. If a patient has just changed doctors, the new doctor may want to contact the old doctor to see if behaviors are new.
A diagnosis of dementia does not mean there is no hope for the patient. Sometimes, declines in cognitive function are treatable, once the cause is identified. Diagnostic tests including imaging studies of the brain will be used to learn more about what is going on inside the patient. These tests will be used to develop a treatment plan. If the patient has dementia caused by an incurable condition, there are management plans available to address the dementia, including medications for depression and therapy to help patients strengthen their remaining cognitive abilities.