Alzheimer’s is a specific type of dementia and the most common form…
The only 100% way for someone to diagnose Alzheimer’s is to do a brain autopsy, which can only be done when dead…. usually when someone who is alive is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, They diagnose by ruling out other diagnoses, situations, and conditions.
For example….
Someone elderly, starts showing signs and symptoms of dementia (confusion, forgetfulness), if they haven’t been recently started on any new meds, they will be tested for a UTI (Urinary tract infection, which confusion is the #1 symptom in older adults for UTIs), if they have started any new meds, the health team will review them to determine if the issue lies there. they will then be tested for an electrolyte imbalance, and so on until they could not rule out any other reason for their behavior…...
Nurse