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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Suggest Treatment For Alzheimer S Disease

i first noted my wife was having memory issues at the age of 56 and Alzheimer s. He did give her a CAT scan and said it was normal, and then put her on some medication that is all he did he has had diabetes added been on insulin ]quite a while and was taking to her neurologist now she is starting to have tremors and she is right-handed and now is unable to hold things in her right hand, but she can enter last. I have had to put her in a nursing home, but I do not think this is doing her any good at all. We have tried to get her in local neurologists in the area. We have changed doctors that since this first neurologist had seen her. He has now left the country, and none of the neurologist around here. We will see in a of his patient. What can I do, I am lost. We really did not get a true diagnosis because hardly any test, and the CAT scan and the CT scan, other than blood
Mon, 24 Aug 2015
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Neurologist 's  Response
I read your question carefully and I am sorry about the situation you are in.

It is difficult to make recommendations on treatment though because I am not sure she has Alzheimer's. Dementia can have many different causes, Alzheimer's is the most common, but there are other possibilities to be excluded such as vascular dementia (repeated strokes), vitamin B12 deficiency, low thyroid function, Parkinson's disease just to name some common ones.
The fact she manifested symptoms at only 56 is a red flag to consider a diagnosis other than Alzheimer's as it typically occurs later. The tremor you describe is also not typical for Parkinson, makes stroke, parkinsonian syndromes or vitamin b12 deficiency more likely.
So the way to go is to check what blood tests has she exactly done, have thyroid function and vitamin B12 level been included. Also while a CT might serve to exclude some issues, generally a MRI is a recommended exam as it gives more info on the atrophied sites or old lesions which could orient the diagnosis. A neurological exam also is needed although I understand the difficulties you are encountering in finding a neurologist, she should be evaluated for parkinsonian or other neurological signs as well as have some neuropsychological tests to determine what areas of cognition have been more affected.

I hope things work out for the best.
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Suggest Treatment For Alzheimer S Disease

I read your question carefully and I am sorry about the situation you are in. It is difficult to make recommendations on treatment though because I am not sure she has Alzheimer s. Dementia can have many different causes, Alzheimer s is the most common, but there are other possibilities to be excluded such as vascular dementia (repeated strokes), vitamin B12 deficiency, low thyroid function, Parkinson s disease just to name some common ones. The fact she manifested symptoms at only 56 is a red flag to consider a diagnosis other than Alzheimer s as it typically occurs later. The tremor you describe is also not typical for Parkinson, makes stroke, parkinsonian syndromes or vitamin b12 deficiency more likely. So the way to go is to check what blood tests has she exactly done, have thyroid function and vitamin B12 level been included. Also while a CT might serve to exclude some issues, generally a MRI is a recommended exam as it gives more info on the atrophied sites or old lesions which could orient the diagnosis. A neurological exam also is needed although I understand the difficulties you are encountering in finding a neurologist, she should be evaluated for parkinsonian or other neurological signs as well as have some neuropsychological tests to determine what areas of cognition have been more affected. I hope things work out for the best.