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The neuro was extremely thorough and we liked her a lot. I stepped out of the room during the MMSE. When I returned, the doctor told us my DH had scored a 25 of 30 on the MMSE, which is the lowest score of "normal." She did a few more tests with me present (which I did not understand...why didn't she do these when I was out of the room?) DH could not spell "world" backward (even though he had been rehearsing it since he could not do it at his PCP appointment a few weeks ago.) He could not close his eyes and touch his nose (he just missed on the right side). He could not do the fingers-to-thumb exercise. It was then that the neuro said she wanted a CT scan, wanted to follow up with him in 6 months and was very clear that I should call her if it seems to me that he was getting worse. I see on her notes on the MRI Imaging order that he tested "Romberg positive." What does that mean? I see the CT scan results on the portal and everything is normal on the CT scan, which means the neuro will not call us. Why would we have to follow up in 6 months if the CT scan showed no problems? Or does a CT scan only rule out stroke? Thank you for your responses.

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I just read that an MRI may show ALZ/Dementia but if normal doesn't mean they don't have it. Normal can mean that the brain is normal for his age.
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Monica19815 Jun 2019
Thanks, JoAnn. I wish the neuro had better explained the reason for the MRI to us, what she was looking for, and what a negative or positive finding would mean...or not mean.
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Correction....it was an MRI not a CT scan. It's been a very long day...!
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Does she have a phone number? Can't you call her?
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Monica19815 Jun 2019
Yes...I will try that in the next day or two. It is a prominent teaching hospital and I am hoping the doctors there are as accessible as our local specialists and family doctors are!
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Thanks for the informative reply. It is greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, she is not in the messaging program on the portal or I would message her. She made it clear we would not hear from her if the MRI was okay (I was mistaken...it was an MRI not a CT scan). She is going to retest him in 6 months (using a different test because DH "practiced" before today's test because he did poorly on the same test at the PCP's office). I would just like to ask her if she is no longer concerned about DH having dementia since the MRI was clear or if the MRI is only "part" of the equation, or only rules out certain causes of dementia. I guess I would also like to know from other members here if anyone also had a clear MRI during the diagnoses process but went on to develop dementia.
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romberg%27s_test

I think you need to be proactive here and call the neuro doc.

Ask what HER interpretation of the CT scan is.

Ask what the results of the Romberg tests mean to her.

Ask what "getting worse" would look like; what changes should you be alert to?

What are your concerns about your husband's health?
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