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This was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal.
It appears we still have a long way to go to be able to diagnose Alzheimer's and to treat it.
https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/why-doctors-cant-agree-on-how-to-diagnose-alzheimers-4b7c7190?st=fDXYvo&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

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My take away was why do they need all this medical care, dr. appointments, meds, etc.? They can rule out physical causes of dementia that are treatable such as a UTI. My neighbor is losing her mind with all the appts for her husband who was diagnosed with dementia one year ago following anesthesia for a hip fracture. It is a terminal disease without a cure and we should just let the disease take it's course. My father in law with Lewy Body had very few interventions. It also raises false hopes that it can be treated or cured if all these drs need to see them. We need some reality here. I have 50 years as a professional in geriatrics and it is frustrating to see what they put these dementia patients and their families through.
My neighbor with dementia just finished a regime of neurospych testing with the results that he is declining. His wife said she knew he was declining and felt worse to have it confirmed. Why do it?Too much of this testing is just done because "the family wants a diagnosis." That is not a good reason to keep testing. These
costly tests and dr appts are not needed just to make the family feel better or worse. Let the person live the rest of their lives in peace.
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I read the article. I am unsure how I take it. It seems to be saying not to test for the disease, but without data, how do physicians have any basis for proceeding?

My wife has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease for 3 years now. She is 79 yo. First she showed mild cognitive symptoms, and her PCP ordered an MRI. It was interpreted to show "normal slight brain atrophy of aging." Her cognition tests showed "mild cognitive decline." Cognition symptoms worsened, and cognition testing now showed early stage dementia. He referred her to a neurologist who diagnosed Alzheimer's disease based solely on cognitive symptoms. She refused to order any physical tests. The blood tests were not yet available, and she felt the diagnosis was sufficiently definitive to make lumbar puncture and pet scans not needed. I with misgivings acquiesced. I thought I probably should take my wife to a university center in Seattle, but allowed the local neurologist to dissuade me.

Now her blood tests, this winter, show tau ratios that are NOT interpretable as Alzheimer's. Her PCP (the neurologist left the practice and another is not locally available) insists that her dementia is due to Alzheimer's, and possibly also is vascular (she is Type I diabetic, but well controlled), but also says, "What does it matter? She DOES have dementia, and that is what matters." I agree with that, and am doing my best to care for her, but a definitive diagnosis would help me emotionally. He refuses to order a PET scan, and I don't want to put her through the lumbar puncture.

Any advice from this group?
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Thanks for posting... I read it.
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