Although there may be a few symptoms that are similar, according to a study published in “Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions,” it appears that the two are both being misdiagnosed at an alarming rate.
According to researchers, Alzheimer’s disease was misdiagnosed in patients as much as 24 percent. The findings show that both false positives and false negative rates were each at 12 percent. It is believed that many of the psychotic symptoms of Alzheimer’s may lead doctors into believing that a victim is actually suffering from dementia instead. It is believed that approximately 36 percent of Alzheimer suffers experience delusions, and 18 percent have hallucinations, both common symptoms of dementia.
The study was performed on 961 people at the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Centre database, which is a collection from 29 Alzheimer’s disease centers in the United States. The collection included patients who were studied between 2005 and 2012, and included patience who had clinical diagnoses with Alzheimer’s during their life, as well as victims whose autopsies showed signature physical signs of Alzheimer’s disease in their brains.
Any type of failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis of an injury, illness or mental condition could be detrimental to the patient’s well-being and health, and could lead to a worsened condition, additional issues or even death. If you believe that you or a loved one was misdiagnosed with a disease and now suffer due to the doctor’s error, you may want to speak with a firm familiar with personal injury to see whether you have a case that could be pursued.
Source: NewsMedical.net, “Study highlights rate of misdiagnosis in Alzheimer’s disease patients with psychosis,” June 30, 2017
