New Delnor clinic helps diagnose, treat memory problems

Life can be stressful enough when you suspect a loved one has something really wrong with his or her memory.

Delnor Hospital hopes to ease the load a bit, by putting testing, diagnostic and follow-up care and support in one place, its new Behavior and Memory Clinic.

It's a joint effort of the Geneva hospital's psychological services department and Suburban Neurology Group. The clinic sees patients for initial testing twice monthly.

Patients are typically referred by their primary-care physician.

Neuropsychologist Lisa Riemenschneider emphasizes that the staff doesn't just deal with people with Alzheimer's disease, and the idea that loss of memory means Alzheimer's is her pet peeve.

Memory impairment and behavioral changes can be caused by many conditions, she says - including vitamin B12 deficiency, multiple sclerosis, poor nutrition, depression, diabetes and vascular disease. Each condition has distinct patterns of memory impairment and behavioral change; the ones you see in someone with Alzheimer's are not the same as someone who has had a stroke, nor is the treatment and prognosis.

The actual cognitive testing is done with just the patient in the room, unless he or she becomes extremely anxious. "It is a very tricky issue," Riemenschneider says, because one of the core issues with some dementias is the patient's lack of awareness that there is a problem.

Tests include reviewing word lists, filling in story paragraphs, answering abstract questions and solving problems. Staff might look to see if you get stuck when you don't know the answer, or adapt. Measurements are tailored for gender, education and background, said psychometrist test-giver Jared Morton.

Riemenschneider sees patients as young as 18, including some who have concussions or traumatic brain injury.

The results of the cognitive testing might indicate specific medical tests need to be done by the neurologists. Riemenschneider recalls the case of a woman who was discharged from the hospital with a diagnosis of dementia and referred to the clinic. Her answers to the test questions prompted the clinic to take an MRI of her brain, and doctors discovered a stroke was the real problem.

With proper treatment, she was able to return to living independently at home.

"Don't assume a dementia," Riemenschneider says. "It's very deadly thinking."

For more information about the clinic, visit delnor.com or call (630) 524-5845.