Is forgetfulness a sign of Alzheimer's?

Question

Hello doctor,

I have been a bit concerned about my old man lately. He is 70-year-old and seems forgetful at times. I stumbled upon something called Alzheimer's and dementia, and it got me wondering - is there a way to test for this stuff, like with blood tests or something? I read about this Tau protein being involved, but honestly, I am not sure what that means. Can you shed some light on that? And how accurate are these tests in detecting dementia? I just want to be proactive and make sure we catch things early if there is an issue. Kindly suggest what signs I should look out for or what tests might be helpful.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

Regarding your father's loss of memory, I believe he has Alzheimer's disease. This is a disease that is common with old age above 50 years and is characterized by loss of memory, slurred speech, gait problems, and loss of cognitive function. Dementia means loss of memory and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Yes, there is a test, a CT (computed tomography) scan of the brain, that shows cortical atrophy in some parts of the brain, but no, the blood test is not specific; rather, it shows a low level of amyloid proteins and is not accurate.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Thank you.