Detection Advances Outpace Treatment

For Alzheimer’s, Detection Advances Outpace Treatment Options

Joshua Lott for The New York Times

Awilda Jimenez got a scan for Alzheimer’s after she started forgetting things. It was positive.

By GINA KOLATA

Published: November 15, 2012

When Awilda Jimenez started forgetting things last year, her husband, Edwin, felt a shiver of dread. Her mother had developedAlzheimer’s in her 50s. Could his wife, 61, have it, too?

• Health Guide: Alzheimer's Disease

• Alzheimer’s Precursors Evident in Brain at Early Age(November 13, 2012)

• Three Drugs to Be Tested to Stave Off Alzheimer’s (October 11, 2012)

He learned there was a new brain scan to diagnose the disease and nervously agreed to get her one, secretly hoping it would lay his fears to rest. In June, his wife became what her doctor says is the first private patient in Arizona to have the test.