@A myALZteam Member: I always go by the question of "To What End?"

For my husband with Alzheimer's: We know that atrophy is ongoing, and simply going by his cognitive changes and behavior is enough. I see no reason to put him through another MRI, unless there's an "event" that makes it necessary -- for example, if it suddenly looked like he had a stroke, or suffered a bad fall, etc.

In my son's situation, periodic MRIs do make sense because he had a TBI that caused large subdural hematomas, and physical damage to the brain. This caused scar tissue to form, and encephalomalacia then ensued, which continues to be an ongoing physical process, even now (5 years later). Two years in, he received a secondary diagnosis of Vascular Dementia, and microbleeds are common to VD, so in his case, periodically monitoring his condition with MRIs absolutely makes sense.

Last but not least:
If and when an MRI is done, I always request a Volumetric Report. They provide so much good information about the location and kind of damage.

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A myALZte...

Thank you to @A myALZteam Member, and @A myALZteam Member, and @A myALZteam Member, and @A myALZteam Member (and all those who previously commented): I don’t know what I would do without everyone here. Truly.

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A myALZte...

A myALZte...

A myALZte...

A myALZte...

@A myALZteam Member, sending you so much love. You did so well to accept and give space to your grief. We can't process pain by running away from it. We have to walk towards it, acknowledge it and only then can we start to move forward again. You're a warrior, Helen. I have such admiration for you, how you care for your family, and support us, your fellow caregivers.

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A myALZte...

My heart goes out to you, @A myALZteam Member. Of course, you needed to cry after your visit with your son. It’s heartbreaking. I, too, thank you for all the help you provide on this site. You’re a treasure.

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A myALZte...

That sounds typical of Alzheimer’s to me. Even before his memory started noticeably failing, my husband, who’d always been a wise man, started falling for scams and sales gimmicks.