12/16/2013 – Why you may want to avoid a dementia test

As you get older, every time you misplace your wallet or can’t remember why you walked into the kitchen, you may wonder: Is this a sign of dementia? Even if such bouts of forgetfulness aren’t serious, a screening test for dementia or its most common cause — Alzheimer’s disease — might seem appealing, if only to reassure you that you’re not losing your mind.

Yet there are good reasons to think twice about such a test, says Des Spence, a general physician in Glasgow, Scotland, and a columnist for BMJ.

Read the full article at The Washington Post.