Can magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computerized tomography (CT) scans help in diagnosing Alzheimers?
There’s no biological marker at this time specific enough to prove that someone has the disease. The brain typically changes with Alzheimer’s, and those changes can show up in a variety of characteristic ways. But that’s not enough to make a diagnosis. There’s a lot of overlap in what we consider normal and abnormal, so even if some areas change on CT or MRI, the person may still function quite well. In our research, we use brain changes on MRI to help us assess the possibility of Alzheimer’s. In most clinical settings, brain imaging should be used only to rule out such things as hemorrhages, brain tumors or strokes. However, we are getting closer and closer to defining Alzheimer’s with both laboratory and imaging tests.
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