What Are the Next Steps After Cognitive Testing?
If your results indicate some level of cognitive impairment, more testing will be necessary to learn more about what’s causing it, says Cleveland. “Those will likely be performed by your primary care doctor,” she says.
Mild cognitive impairment doesn’t always mean that you’re going to get dementia. About half of people who have mild cognitive impairment have it for some other reason than the foreshadowing of dementia, says Cleveland.
One of the first steps in determining a cause is usually looking at all the medications that a person is taking. “Sometimes it’s a medication that’s causing the cognitive issue. A common example is the antihistamine drug meclizine; it seems to affect memory in some people,” she says.
Thyroid issues, sleep issues, and vitamin deficiencies — especially vitamin B12 deficiency — can also cause cognitive problems, says Dr. Scharre. “If an underlying cause is identified and treated, the impairment will likely improve,” he says.
In some cases, a brain scan might be performed. “We’re looking for any evidence of small strokes, inflammation, tumors, infections, structural issues — any of these could be causing a person to not be thinking as well,” says Scharre.
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