I just heard on the 11 O'Clock news a report about a new FDA approved Brain Scan that is about 96% accurate in the DX of dementia. It is not a scan for the general public but is another tool to assist in the DX of persons presenting with dementia. Some kind of a dye is used to trace and outline the brain to see the amailoyd and make the DX even more certain. The news story was showing elderly patients being tested by the means we are familiar with, flash cards with words, the clock and other things. This test will be available once doctors and techs are schooled up in the proper methods of this testing so the results will be uniform across the nation. It was said this is not the Miracle they were looking for but is it yet another tool in helping sort out memory issues.
See the discussion a few titles down "Who decides?"
This is an answered prayer :) I have been waiting for this for 2 years. The Pet Scan dye is to be called Amyvid ( it is florbetapir). The test will be especially useful for those diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment. In MCI patients: when this scan was positive, they when on to develop AD; when it was negative - they did not.
I am hoping my husband will be one of the first to get this scan outside of clinical trials :)
If you want to see a picture of the scan, I've got one on my blog: http://downtherabbithole-mary.blogspot.com/