Misdiagnosis of Dementia
Alternative diagnoses list for Dementia:
For a diagnosis of Dementia,
the following list of conditions
have been mentioned in sources
as possible alternative diagnoses
to consider during the diagnostic process for Dementia:
Diseases for which Dementia may be an alternative diagnosis
The other diseases for which Dementia
is listed as a possible alternative
diagnosis in their lists include:
Dementia: Hidden Causes Misdiagnosed?
Causes of Dementia may include these medical conditions:
Rare Types of Dementia:
Dementia Diagnosis: Book Excerpts
Dementia: Medical Mistakes
Related medical mistakes may include:
Dementia: Undiagnosed Conditions
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Discussion of diagnosis/misdiagnosis of Dementia:
Aging - Women Getting Older: NWHIC (Excerpt)
It is natural to lose some mental acuity as you age. Think of your
brain as a computer, with megabytes of information added each year, year
after year. Unlike a computer, however, we can’t delete useless
information. So our minds can at times experience something that feels
like overload, and it’s easy to forget some of life’s details. Serious
memory loss, however, is more rare. (Source: excerpt from Aging - Women Getting Older: NWHIC)
Forgetfulness It's Not Always What You Think - Age Page - Health Information: NIA (Excerpt)
Stress, anxiety, or depression can make a person more forgetful.
Forgetfulness caused by these emotions usually is temporary and goes
away when the feelings fade. However, if these feelings last for a
long period of time, getting help from a professional is important.
Treatment may include counseling or medication, or a combination of
both. (Source: excerpt from Forgetfulness It's Not Always What You Think - Age Page - Health Information: NIA)
Common Misdiagnoses and Dementia
Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who
had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness
because he suffered from sudden inability to speak.
This was initially misdiagnosed as a "nervous breakdown" and other mental conditions.
He was later diagnosed as having had a stroke, and suffering from aphasia (inability to speak),
a well-known complication of stroke (or other brain conditions).
Alzheimer's disease over-diagnosed: The well-known disease of Alzheimer's disease
is often over-diagnosed.
Patients tend to assume that any memory loss or forgetulness symptom might be Alzheimer's,
whereas there are many other less severe possibilities.
Some level of memory decline is normal with aging,
and even a slight loss of acuity may be noticed in the 30's and 40's.
Other conditions can also lead a person to show greater forgetfulness.
For example, depression and depressive disorders can cause a person to
have reduced concentration and thereby poorer memory retention.
Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for
a patient to show mental decline to dementia.
Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions,
such as a stroke or Alzheimer's disease,
it can also occur from a side effect or interaction between multiple drugs
that the elderly patient may be taking.
There are also various other possible causes of dementia.
Tremor need not be Parkinson's disease: There is the tendency to believe that
any tremor symptom, or shakiness, means Parkinson's disease.
The reality is that there are various possibilities, such as benign essential tremor,
which is mostly harmless.
see the various causes of tremor and misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Mild traumatic brain injury often remains undiagnosed: Although the symptoms
of severe brain injury are hard to miss,
it is less clear for milder injuries, or even those causing a mild concussion diagnosis.
The condition goes by the name of "mild traumatic brain injury" (MTBI).
MTBI symptoms can be mild, and can continue for days or weeks after the injury.
See the symptoms of MTBI or misdiagnosis of MTBI.
MTBI misdiagnosed as balance problem: When a person has symptoms
such as vertigo or dizziness, a diagnosis of brain injury may go overlooked.
This is particularly true of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), for which the
symptoms are typically mild. The symptoms has also relate to a relatively
mild brain injury (e.g. fall), that could have occurred days or even weeks ago.
Vestibular dysfunction, causing vertigo-like symptoms, is a common complication
of mild brain injury.
See causes of dizziness, causes of vertigo, or misdiagnosis of MTBI.
Rare diseases misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease: A rare genetic
disorder is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease for men in their 50's.
The disease Fragile X disorder can show only mild symptoms in the early years,
and Parkinsons-like symptoms around age 50.
See misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Brain pressure condition often misdiagnosed as dementia: A condition
that results from an excessive pressure of CSF within the brain is often misdiagnosed.
It may be misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease or dementia (such as Alzheimer's disease).
The condition is called "Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus" (NPH) and is caused by having
too much CSF, i.e. too much "fluid on the brain".
One study suggested that 1 in 20 diagnoses of dementia or Parkinson's disease were actually NPH.
See misdiagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Post-concussive brain injury often misdiagnosed: A study found that soldiers who had
suffered a concussive injury in battle often were misdiagnosed on their return.
A variety of symptoms can occur in post-concussion syndrome and these were not being correctly
attributed to their concussion injury.
See introduction to concussion.
Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be
correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients.
These patients are not the typical migraine sufferers, but migraines can also occur in children.
See misdiagnosis of migraine or introduction to migraine.
Huntington disease maybe confused: Huntington Disease is an
autosomal dominant disorder presenting as an inherited adult onset neurological
disorder. The patient has three characteristic features: chorea, abnormal
behaviour and dementia. It must also be differentiated from other disorders or
conditions associated with chorea such as Wilson disease, drug-induced tardive
dyskinesia, Sydenham's chorea, systemic lupus erythematosus and senile chorea.
A family history must be asked for. The disease has a fatal outcome 15- 20
years from onset. There is no specific treatment for the condition. Genetic
testing and counselling is every important in Huntington disease.
Dementia to be spotted early on: Dementia is an important diagnosis to consider in the
elderly. A vigorous search for a possible cause of dementia is warranted since
there are significant numbers of reversible conditions. It is important to
exclude the psychiatric conditions that may mimic dementia. Some of the common
conditions which have to be kept in mind so as to avoid misdiagnosis include
delirium, depression, head trauma, cerebrovascular accidents, drugs and
schizophrenia. Treatment is aimed at controlling the psychotic symptoms or disturbed
behaviour.
Dementia: Rare Types
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
- Brain & Neurological Disorders: Rare Types:
- Chronic Major Diseases -- Rare Types:
- Senior Health: rare types of diseases:
- more rare diseases...»
Medical news summaries about misdiagnosis of Dementia:
The following medical news items
are relevant to misdiagnosis of Dementia:
General Misdiagnosis Articles
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
About misdiagnosis:
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Dementia
or confirming a diagnosis of Dementia,
it is useful to consider what other
medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative
conditions relevant to diagnosis.
These alternate diagnoses of Dementia may already have
been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible
alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Dementia.
For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases,
see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
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