Does a brain scan diagnose dementia?

My Moms doctor told us there is no way to tell except for autopsy so he wont put her through any tests. Isnt an MRI loud and confined too? The only thing my Mother had was a cat scan when she lost her vision and it shows a stroke, large blood area in her brain and, at her age, no cure. that was 3 years ago, still here!

alztimzers and stroke related dementia is detectable by mri. some dementia is cause d by chemical changes in the brain.

Petscan if possible

This is interesting question as my mother is getting a long overdue CTscan and EEG monday for her Dimentia...it was never done, her DRs for the past 8 ys had never indicated i should have any tests...we stumbled upon it by accident as she was having fainting spells that i finally insisted on being diagnosed therefore we were referred to Neurologist who scolded me for not bringing her in the beginning...

After reading this i am wondering if she should be getting an MRI or Petscan as mentioned above. I have had it with the mistakes her Drs make and i dont know any better but to follow their lead!!

My mother had a pet scan at the alzheimers institute in phoenix, Frontal temporal lobe dementia was the result.

MRI gives the Doctor a good baseline of what may be wrong but today's Pet Scan can tell so much more. Dr s are reluctant anymore to give this due to the cost

Thankyou that makes sense! Just so nervous the waiting is unbearable! Her scan is the 15th of August even though I think its dementia the actual diagnosis will still be a blow.
So sorry about your dad very sad a horrible illness!

When a diagnosis of dementia is suspected the neurologist will normally have some type of brain scan done. My Dad had an MRI at the time of his diagnosis. The main reason for the MRI is to rule out anything other than dementia, such as stroke, tumor, or anything else unusual, as mentioned in a prior post. The MRI will also show whether there has been atrophy of the brain -- whether brain tissue has been lost -- which happens with dementia. My Dad's MRI showed that he did have brain atrophy as well as some hardening of the blood vessels in the brain, and he was diagnosed as having Alzheimer's along with some Parkinsonism. So, I guess it really might be a "yes" and "no" answer. Yes, an MRI can detect some of the physical problems with the brain that go along with dementia; and no, the scan doesn't diagnose dementia, it is just one of the tools used by the doctor so that he can make the diagnosis. Hope this helps.

Yes and No?? even more confused?

Oops I guess I miss understood what the Dr said....

No but will detect if she had a stroke or bleeding...my mom,s Dr wants her to have one also...

Yes, MRI will show the degeneration of the brain's cortex (outer layer) and is common in many forms of dementia. It is going to show anything unusual and help diagnose other problems.