1. How is Alzheimer's Disease definitively diagnosed?
Alzheimer's disease is currently diagnosed based on cognitive changes and by ruling out other causes of these changes. It is definitively confirmed after death by looking for microscopic changes in a person's brain tissue. The microscopic evaluation involves looking for the number of
senile plaques and
neurofibrillary tangles found in the brain. Characteristic changes on brain scans (MRI or PET scans) and/or low Aß42 and high tau protein levels in CSF (where available) may be ordered to help in the diagnosis.
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2. Can I have my blood tested instead of my CSF?
Not at this time. Studies of blood measurements of Aß42 and tau have not shown them to be useful reflections of what is occurring in a person's brain.
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