Suspicion of Dementia but Normal Neuropsychological Screening--What Next?

Abstract

Dementia affects more and more people, affects their relatives and results in increasing costs, which is why Switzerland chose to put out a dementia awareness campaign which aims to increase early diagnosis rates for dementia. Thanks to early diagnosis, the frequency of hospitalisations is reduced and transfers to nursing homes are delayed. When screening tests end up being normal by patients with subjective memory disorder, early diagnosis can be difficult. The use of smell identification tests or other clinical signs could help the general practitioner to decide, which patients he has to refer for further investigations. The era of functional brain imaging and biomarkers has not yet come into being. For patients with suspected memory disorder and normal screening tests, the dialogue with the general practitioner is central for a competent and efficient follow-up of the patient.