Is the Diagnosis Dementia, Senility, Old Age, or Alzheimers Disease?
“Mrs. Doe”, the doctor said to his patient sitting across from him, “I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that I am not completely sure of what is causing your symptoms of memory loss and confusion. You told me that you have been forgetting a lot of things recently and that you are worried that you may have Alzheimer’s disease. So the first thing we did was have some tests done that could help us get to the bottom of your trouble.” “We completed a urinalysis to rule out the possibility of a urinary tract infection since that can cause temporary confusion and memory loss in some older people. We also did a number of blood tests to see if something there could explain your symptoms. Sometimes low levels of Vitamin B-12 or iron deficiency can reduce a person’s ability to think clearly and sharply. All of your test results were normal.” “As you probably already know, he went on, the older we get the more forgetful we become. I’m younger than you and I already notice it!
