PET Scan

saranita

My 89 1/2 year old mother has mild dementia and knows that her brain is not working like it used to, but we and her doctor have not used the words dementia or Alzheimer's in her presence. We just don't think it is worth the pain it will cause her. She tried Aricept but it gave her migraines. My sister asked me today whether I thought it would benefit my mother to get a PET scan so she can find out for sure whether she has Alzheimer's or something else. I don't think so but what do others here think?

Quilting brings calm

I’ve not heard of a PET scan for dementia diagnosis,  I think of a PET scan for a cancer diagnosis.  Do you mean a CT scan and an MRI?  It might worth it if you/the doctor  think something else might be the cause. However 89 year olds are not great candidates for surgery. So you’d have to be looking for something that could be fixed without surgery.

saranita

Thanks. She has already had a CT & MRI. See here about using PET scans for diagnosing dementia: https://www.alzdiscovery.org/news-room/blog/pet-scans-improve-management-of-patients-with-dementia

Iris L.

I had an Amyvid PET scan done via a clinical trial which confirmed that I do not have increased amyloid in my brain and thus no diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease.  She has already had CT and MRI.  I would be more concerned about nutritional deficiencies and other medical issues and drug interactions. Does Sister think the medical evaluation was incomplete?  BTW, there is no pain in a PET scan but there is an injection.  

Iris

harshedbuzz

My dad had a PET scan to differentiate between kinds of dementia based on how the brain uses sugar while performing mental tasks. 

He'd already had a CT scan and MRIs done. Mom's teacher retiree insurance did pick up the cost; had it not we probably would not have agreed to it. He was initially seen in the ER with psychosis which the ER resident felt was Wernicke-Korsakoff's. Once he was admitted and more tests/deeper history (including me; mother is not a reliable reporter) was done, the attending (a professor at their medical school) changed it to Alzheimer's while still treating for WKS. Follow up was at the memory center with a third neurologist who felt dad had mixed dementia. He ordered the PET scan which confirmed mixed dementia ALZ and WKS. He also felt dad likely had some VD and behaviors consistent with a behavioral variant of FTD.

It was interesting information, but didn't change treatment in his case or offer clarity around timeline planning. 

HB

JDancer

I had a PET scan years ago after a breast cancer diagnosis. It's not painful. It takes longer than a CT, more like an MRI. So if she had trouble holding still for the MRI, I wouldn't bother with the PET scan.

Like any medical test, ask yourself the following questions-Is it harmful/painful? Are there risks? What information are you looking for? What will you do with the information?