How does a doc diagnose dementia?

History: The first thing to do is to take a careful history of the patient and family. What symptoms does the patient have? Is there a history of dementia, stroke or heart disease? Rating scales like a mini mental status exam or moca (montreal cognitive assessment) are useful. Labs are checked like b12, folate (folic acid) or RPR (syphilis). Sometimes a head scan is helpful.

History and exam: The key to all diagnosis is accurate history to generate a list of possible explanations for symptoms then testing and possibly treatment. For dementia, one focusses on memory, use of and understanding language, functional decline, problems with reasoning and other areas of brain functioning.