Misdiagnosis of Dementia

Misdiagnosis 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.

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.

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.

More about Misdiagnosis

• Causes of Dementia
• Misdiagnosis Overview
• How Common is Misdiagnosis?
• Over-Diagnosed Diseases
• Under-Diagnosed Diseases
• Types of Misdiagnosis
• Wrong Type Misdiagnosis
• Why Does Misdiagnosis Occur?
• Difficult Diseases to Diagnose
• More premium medical articles ...

 » Next page: AMNESIA (Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs)

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• AMNESIA (Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs)
• DELIRIUM (Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs)
• HALLUCINATIONS (Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs)
• DEMENTIA (Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs)
• APHASIA, APRAXIA, AND AGNOSIA (Algorithmic Diagnosis of Symptoms and Signs)

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