Cognitive and behavioural neurology deals with disorders of memory, language, attention, reasoning and personality caused by brain disease. It is the specialty behind most memory clinics.
Its first job is to separate normal ageing, depression, medication effects and treatable conditions from dementia, and then to identify which type of dementia is present, because treatment and outlook differ.
Conditions this service looks after
- Mild cognitive impairment
- Alzheimer's disease
- Vascular dementia
- Dementia with Lewy bodies
- Frontotemporal dementia and primary progressive aphasia
- Normal pressure hydrocephalus
- Cognitive problems after stroke, head injury or encephalitis
- Memory complaints from depression, poor sleep or medication
Tests you may be offered
- Structured history with a relative: A person who knows you well is essential to the assessment.
- Cognitive screening and full neuropsychological testing: From short bedside tests to a 2 to 3 hour detailed profile.
- Blood tests: Thyroid, B12, folate, calcium, glucose, kidney and liver function, and infection screening where relevant.
- MRI brain: Shows shrinkage patterns, small vessel disease, hydrocephalus or tumour.
- FDG-PET or amyloid PET: Help in atypical or early-onset cases.
- CSF biomarkers: Amyloid and tau levels from a lumbar puncture.
Treatments available
- Cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine: Give modest symptomatic benefit in Alzheimer's and Lewy body dementia.
- Treating reversible contributors: Stopping sedative and anticholinergic drugs, treating depression, sleep apnoea and hearing loss.
- Vascular risk control: Blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol.
- Shunt surgery: For confirmed normal pressure hydrocephalus after a positive tap test.
- Anti-amyloid antibody therapy: Where licensed, for early biomarker-proven Alzheimer's disease, with regular MRI safety monitoring.
- Behavioural and carer support: Non-drug strategies first for agitation and sleep problems.
When to ask for a specialist opinion
- Memory or language problems that are getting worse over months
- Personality or behaviour change in middle age
- Difficulty managing finances, medication or driving
- Onset before 65, or a rapid decline
- A strong family history of early dementia
Travelling to Türkiye for this care
A memory work-up with MRI, blood tests, neuropsychology and PET or spinal fluid biomarkers can be completed in 3 to 5 days, and a second opinion on an unclear diagnosis is a good use of a trip. The person should travel with a companion. Dementia care itself is long-term, local and family-based, and fortnightly or monthly infusion therapies are impractical abroad.
Send your reports, scans and a short history and a Clinic-Y coordinator replies within 24 hours with suitable teams and written, all-inclusive proposals side by side. Reviewing your case is free.
الأسئلة المتكررة
Is forgetting names a sign of dementia?
Usually not. Concern rises when recent events and conversations are forgotten, questions are repeated, or daily tasks slip.
Can testing be done in my language?
Cognitive tests depend heavily on language and education. Ask for an interpreter experienced in medical testing, and expect some limits.
Is there any point in an early diagnosis?
Yes. It identifies treatable causes, opens access to medication, and allows legal and financial planning while the person can decide.