Success Story
Michael Ray Arambula, M.D., Pharm.D.
Psychiatry
Forensic Psychiatry

“Historically, diagnosing Alzheimer’s has been challenging as it became a diagnosis of exclusion.”

“Historically, diagnosing Alzheimer’s has been challenging as it became a diagnosis of exclusion. Nothing was clear cut to help us identify Alzheimer’s and provide an accurate diagnosis for the patient and family. Now, we’ve added the DISCERN™ test to our workup and are extremely satisfied with the results. Traditionally, it probably took at least six months to a year, sometimes up to two years, to diagnose Alzheimer’s. It was very frustrating for the patients and especially the families because they want a name for the disease that is causing so much suffering for their loved one.

Now we value the DISCERN™ test because it is extremely easy to administer. It's a single skin punch and our patients love it, especially because it's just a single test. They don't have to get a PET scan, a lumbar puncture or other types of testing. They are happy that it's only one punch and that's all.

Now we value the DISCERN™ test because it is extremely easy to administer.

We are very satisfied with the test results since it is so nice to see that Alzheimer’s is either detected or not detected. While it may not be pleasant to tell a patient that they have the disease, it is gratifying to see how pleased they are to know the results. Often, they say, ‘thank you!’ They're just so excited to finally have a name for what is happening to them.

Patients and caregivers are especially grateful to finally have a definitive diagnosis because they finally have peace of mind. Granted, it's sad for them to have to hear the news, but at the same time, they've been struggling for so long trying to find a name for what their loved one has that it really helps to finally know.

DISCERN™ helped us diagnose Alzheimer's

Here's a great example of a female patient who had a PET scan that was negative. The individual also endured an MRI and some other studies which showed nothing definitive, but her memory was progressively declining. It wasn’t until we administered the DISCERN™ test -- which came back positive for Alzheimer's -- did we actually have an accurate answer. In this case, DISCERN™ helped us diagnose Alzheimer's.”