No one should wait years for a diagnosis
For three agonising years, Jody – who was in her early 50s – kept asking ‘What’s wrong with me?’
She went from doctor to doctor in search of answers. They thought it was stress, anxiety or depression, but in Jody’s case it wasn’t.
It was young adult onset dementia.
There’s no single test for dementia. In older people, it’s usually diagnosed on the basis of a history of symptoms, physical and mental capability tests, and a brain scan.
Dementia in younger people (under 65) is relatively rare. Often, it doesn’t show itself in the same way, and people like Jody go undiagnosed, year after year.
“I had some dark times,’ says Jody. ‘I felt lost within myself.” Under the pressure of not knowing, some people lose their jobs. Relationships breakdown. Families split apart.
No one should have to wait years for a dementia diagnosis. That’s why researchers at The Royal Melbourne are developing a fast, accurate alternative.
Professor Dennis Velakoulis, Director of Neuropsychiatry, leads the team that’s developing a simple blood test that will detect dementia and other neurological diseases using a protein called neurofilament light that’s released when brain cells are damaged or dying.
To complete this ground breaking project, the team needs your help to purchase 22 specialised diagnostic kits, and we've already raised enough for 19 of them - will you help provide one of the three remaining kits today?
You could help give people like Jody a diagnosis in days or weeks, rather than years.