To make a long story short, my grandmother has been having problems lately, and her doctor scheduled her for an MRI. My father voiced the possibility that it’s Alzheimers. Can one tell that from an MRI?
Not really. You can get an idea, but the bottom line is that Alzheimer’s is a clinical diagnosis - there’s no test for it.
The MRI (or CT) of someone with Alzheimer’s will show atrophy (shrinkage) of the brain, but the same degree of atrophy can also be found in normal people.
OTOH, an MRI or CT can demonstrate multiple previous strokes (which is the second most common cause of dementia).
I guess I should also note that it’s possible to evidence of multiple previous strokes on MRI or CT and still not have dementia. So, again, that too is a clinical diagnosis.
Thanks. We suspect a stroke, or something, although her doctor also mentioned the possibility of depression (which, quite frankly, considering that she has NEVER recovered from my aunt’s death, sounds most likely to me).
And before anyone says I’m jumping the gun with the depression, trust me, there’s REASON to think so. Plenty. Oh boy, is there ever.
Certainly confusion can be a symptom of depression.
Well, I’m sure it can, but would it cause physical impairment? My grandmother can barely walk at this point, and yesterday my mother had to help her take a bath because she can’t get in and out of the tub.