A physician should be consulted about concerns with memory, thinking skills, and changes in behavior. For people with dementia and their families, an early diagnosis has many advantages:

• time to make choices that maximize quality of life
  
  
• lessened anxieties about unknown problems
  
  
• a better chance of benefiting from treatment
  
  
• more time to plan for the future

It is also important for a physician to determine the cause of memory loss or other symptoms. Some dementia or dementia-like symptoms can be reversed if they are caused by treatable conditions, such as depression, drug interaction, thyroid problems, and certain vitamin deficiencies.