How to get the best dementia treatment

If we haven't been touched by Alzheimer's, we know someone who has. In fact, more than 7 million Americans 65 and older have the disease. And the average wait time for diagnosis and treatment of dementia ranges from 12 months to nearly 4 years, according to a study in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia. Yet there's hope in the form of simple steps you or your loved one can take to shrink that wait time and start treatment

- by KRISTINA MASTROCOLA

Why the long wait?

The biggest factor accounting for the lag time in getting a dementia diagnosis is, unfortunately, the overwhelming number of people dealing with cognitive and memory issues.

"By the time we're 85 or older, 40% of us have some form of dementia, whether it's Alzheimer's or a related condition," reveals Harvard-trained neurologist Andrew E. Budson, M.D., professor of neurology at Boston University and coauthor of Seven Steps to Managing Your Aging Memory.

Another roadblock is the shortage of specialists, particularly neurologists. “I’m part of a nationally funded, NIH-supported institution, yet all my colleagues report substantial wait times for an appointment—it’s a real phenomenon,” confirms neurologist Jeffrey Kaye, M.D., Layton professor of neurology and biomedical engineering and the director of the Layton Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Center at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU).

Treatments are relatively new

One reason we don’t have enough neurologists is that until recently, there were very few dementia treatments, making it almost futile to train doctors in the field.