Mayo Clinic has just announced they have a new scan which can differentiate among Alzheimer's, Dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontal lobe dementia. This is incredibly exciting, as a definitive diagnosis used to be able to be done only after death with a brain autopsy (although neurologists are very good currently of determining probable diagnosis by symptoms and neuropsychological testing).
Why is this exciting? Caregivers are so much better able to support positive living situations when they know what part of the brain is involved, what are the characteristics of the specific type of dementia, and what are some things they can expect. This is yet another reason for getting a very good medical diagnosis which includes neuropsychological testing. Who knows what breakthroughs might be next in the medical research involving dementia?!
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