MCI diagnosis from Neuropsychologist

Posted by mrwatszoo @mrwatszoo, Sep 30 10:45am

Hi,
I’m still pretty new to the group and it has been helpful in so many ways, so thank you all for sharing stories thoughts and questions.
My wife was diagnosed with MCI and or FTD, this came from a Neuropsychologists examination. Do I rely on his report? We are going to Rochester for this and spinal issues.
Are there medical exams that can definitively confirm the diagnosis?
Thank you
Mr. W

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katrina123 | @katrina123 | Sep 30 12:14pm

My husband has Alzheimer's and in his case a brain MRI along with some tests confirmed his diagnosis.

mrwatszoo | @mrwatszoo | Sep 30 1:06pm

In reply to @katrina123 "My husband has Alzheimer's and in his case a brain MRI along with some tests confirmed..." + (show)

@katrina123 thank you for the response. I am hopeful then that the testing provides some relief of the not knowing for certain.

celia16 | @celia16 | Sep 30 6:09pm

Were brain scans indicative of FTD?

kjc48 | @kjc48 | Oct 1 11:20am

My husband had an mri amyloid brain scan, pet scans, followed by the diagnosis and because he was early onset, lequembe infusions after two weeks, covered by Medicare.

maryvc | @maryvc | Oct 1 4:32pm

Tau217 blood test
• High levels of p-tau217 correlate closely with the presence of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain, which previously could only be confirmed by PET scans or spinal fluid analysis (lumbar puncture).
My husband had the blood test and indeed his was highly elevated.
This test has 90% accuracy compared to lumbar samples.

mrwatszoo | @mrwatszoo | Oct 3 11:26am

In reply to @celia16 "Were brain scans indicative of FTD?" + (show)

@celia16 we have brain scans but at the time they were taken the MCI was not being looked at, so there are no comparison reports to review.

mrwatszoo | @mrwatszoo | Oct 3 11:28am

In reply to @maryvc "Tau217 blood test • High levels of p-tau217 correlate closely with the presence of amyloid plaques..." + (show)

@maryvc I will ask for this test if it is not in the Dr.s orders already.

judimahoney | @judimahoney | Oct 4 9:09am

In reply to @maryvc "Tau217 blood test • High levels of p-tau217 correlate closely with the presence of amyloid plaques..." + (show)

@maryvc
Based on your comment I requested the tau test, and found out it is not covered by Medicare and most insurance companies do not approve the test since it has yet to receive FDA approval, so... you get to pay out-of-pocket if you still want it. It can cost up to $1,200. 😳