Massachusetts General Hospital
Wang Ambulatory Care Center
15 Parkman Street
8th Floor, Suite 835
Boston,
MA
02114
Phone: 617-726-1728
Fax: 617-726-4101
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive condition that gradually affects memory, thinking, and daily life. It is the most common form of dementia, a syndrome that impacts cognitive abilities such as language, reasoning, and decision-making. Because these symptoms can also appear in other neurological conditions, diagnosing Alzheimer’s often requires a series of tests. While there is no cure, treatments and support services can help slow symptom progression, enhance quality of life, and provide comfort and guidance for both patients and their loved ones.
The Massachusetts General Hospital Memory Disorders Division, which includes the Alzheimer Therapeutics Program, offers comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services for Alzheimer’s disease, helping individuals receive the care and guidance they need at every stage of the condition.
If you're experiencing memory loss or other symptoms that make you concerned about Alzheimer’s disease, your doctor will start by getting a comprehensive medical history, physical exam, and a discussion of your family history and other risk factors. It's common for them to ask a friend or family member about your symptoms, too. This is because Alzheimer's can cause changes in memory, personality, and reasoning skills that you may not notice yourself but that loved ones often recognize.
Your doctor may ask about:
If your doctor suspects Alzheimer's disease based on the history and exam, they'll recommend further testing:
On its own, an MRI can't diagnose Alzheimer's disease. However, it can reveal changes in the brain structure that may be associated with Alzheimer's. When combined with other diagnostic tools, an MRI can help doctors confirm an Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.
While there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, treatments can help slow the progression of symptoms, improve quality of life, and provide support for patients and their families. Current treatments for Alzheimer’s disease include:
Early-onset Alzheimer's disease treatments are the same as those for other forms of Alzheimer's.
Teresa Gomez-Isla, MD, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Memory Division, explains that while we can’t cure Alzheimer’s, there are promising drugs being tested in clinical trials that may slow memory loss.
Healthy lifestyle factors can help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and also slow its progression, such as:
A neurologist—a doctor who specializes in the brain and nervous system—typically oversees the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Depending on the patient's needs, specialists, like geriatricians or psychiatrists, may also be involved in care.
The best treatment for Alzheimer's depends on the stage and severity of the condition. In the early stages, medications called cholinesterase inhibitors can help improve memory and thinking by boosting brain function. In the moderate stages, memantine is often used to manage symptoms and may be combined with cholinesterase inhibitors for added benefit.
New immunotherapy treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (lecanemab and donanemab) have shown promise in slowing the disease’s progression in its early stages. However, long-term results are still being studied.
Two new immunotherapy drugs (lecanemab and donanemab) are the latest treatments for Alzheimer's disease. The FDA approved lecanemab in January 2023 and donanemab in July 2024. Both drugs are considered disease-modifying treatments as they target the underlying physiopathology in the brain and have the potential to alter the course of the disease rather than manage symptoms.
Lecanemab and donanemab are most effective when given during the early stages of Alzheimer’s, before significant brain damage occurs.
Stem cell research holds promise for the future of Alzheimer’s treatment, but no stem cell therapies are currently available for clinical use. Experts believe that stem cell treatments are still in the early stages of research.
Dementia is not a specific disease—it is an umbrella term for a group of symptoms that reflect cognitive and functional decline. Many conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, can cause dementia. Other types include frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, and Lewy Body dementia.
A doctor can help diagnose the specific cause of the cognitive symptoms through careful evaluation. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia, but there are others, such as Lewy body dementia or vascular dementia.
There's no single test for Alzheimer's. Your doctor will use a combination of tests to confirm an Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and rule out other conditions. They may include brain scans, mental status tests, and a neurological exam.
If Alzheimer's disease is left untreated, symptoms can worsen more rapidly. In advanced stages, severe cognitive decline can lead to loss of independence and mobility, difficulty swallowing or breathing, and life-threatening complications due to significant brain function loss.
New diagnostic tests for Alzheimer's are emerging, including blood tests to detect proteins associated with the disease and retinal scans that use AI to identify signs of Alzheimer’s in the eye before major symptoms appear. These tests are still evolving and are not yet replacements for traditional evaluations by a doctor. However, they may help identify individuals at higher risk or detect Alzheimer’s earlier in its course.
The average age for an Alzheimer's diagnosis is 74 for late-onset Alzheimer's (the most common form) and 56 for early-onset Alzheimer's (a rarer form).
The Alzheimer Therapeutics Program seeks to lead the future of dementia care by providing clinical care with disease-modifying therapies, advancing knowledge through research, and educating medical professionals and the public.
