Is an MRI an accurate 'measurement" of whether or not a person has dementia or Alzeimers, etc?

I don't know if any of the reasons were discussed publicly. I know that Campbell has a history of being physically abusive in his younger years. It is the reason Tonya Tucker said she left him. I wonder if the tendency to be abusive might have showed up again. We did see if with his wife's recent black eye. I wondered if physical abuse may have played some part in Campbell's coming home. I know we've seen it here on the group when a facility says a patient will have to leave.

Of course, Campbell and kids may have also been pushing to come home. To me this shows that things are similar, no matter how wealthy and famous someone is. I don't know the real story. Maybe Glenn's wife will write it one day.

Sunny, I assume the family who were criticizing Campbell's wife didn't volunteer to help, but just "offered" their criticism?

Thank JessieBell for that information. The last I heard, a couple of Glen's adult children were bad mouthing his wife in the media for placing him in a Memory Care facility. I knew then that they must not have tried to be a care giver to a dementia patient. I guess his wife decided to bring him home to satisfy the kids. It's amazing how people who don't know much about dementia and aren't a caregiver themselves, are an expert on where the dementia patient should live. lol

A few years ago when I took a caregiving course, the issue of Alz diagnosis was discussed, not any dementia, but just Alz. It's my understanding that up until somewhere around that time a few years ago, the only true diagnosis was by autopsy.

But the team leader of the seminar said that spinal taps were discovered to provide ALZ diagnoses.

I haven't kept up on the research; if Dr. Peterson has discovered a new method through MRIs, that would be an important step. I've bookmarked that site to read later.

Thanks for sharing what could be an important discovery - if MRIs can show the nerve patterns in a living, ongoing Alz patient, it might also be an important step to research on potential solutions.

But I think Jessie makes an important point in distinguishing the difference between confirmation and diagnosis. Obviously much more research could support or challenge Peterson's conclusions.

sunnygirl, I was reading on FB this morning that Campbell is back home from the care facility. His wife is going through the same things we go through with baths and dressing. She wrote that he hit her and gave her a black eye. I wondered if he was so disagreeable about the care facility that they brought him back home. My thoughts are with his wife as she goes through this. There was a tribute to Glenn Campbell a while back. I think we should have had a tribute to his wife!

I don't think an MRI alone can be used to make a diagnosis of Alz. However, it can be used to confirm that it is likely Alz when other symptoms are there. The uncertainty of MRIs as sole diagnostic tool is because some people have plaques and tangles, but no other symptoms of Alz.

I have read for a long time that an MRI cannot confirm AD, however, it seems that Dr. Peterson with the Mayo Clinic believes differently and that was reflected in the recent movie documenting the diagnosis of entertainer Glen Campbell. He points out why the MRI did confirm AD in Campbell. Here is a link that includes Campbell's diagnosis at the Mayo Clinic,

newsnetwork.mayoclinic/discussion/glen-campbell-documentary-shares-alzheimers-journey/

I highly recommend the Campbell movie, as it shows a lot about diagnosis, progression and the impact on the family.