Evidence-Based Supplement & Herb Guides

Alzheimer’s Testing and Diagnosis: What the Workup Looks Like

Learn what an Alzheimer’s workup includes, from history, cognitive testing, labs, and MRI to biomarker tests such as amyloid blood tests and PET scans, and how doctors reach the diagnosis.

When memory, thinking, language, or daily decision-making changes become noticeable, the goal of an Alzheimer’s workup is not simply to “take a memory test.”...

Amyloid Blood Tests: What They Show and Who They Are For

Learn what amyloid blood tests show, who they are for, how results are interpreted, and how they compare with PET scans and spinal fluid testing.

Amyloid blood tests are changing how clinicians evaluate possible Alzheimer’s disease, but they are not simple “yes or no” memory-loss tests. They look for...

Amyloid PET Scan: How It Helps in Alzheimer’s Diagnosis

Learn what an amyloid PET scan shows, when doctors use it in Alzheimer’s diagnosis, how to interpret positive and negative results, and how it compares with blood tests, MRI, CSF, and tau PET.

Memory loss, confusion, word-finding trouble, and changes in daily function can have many causes. Alzheimer’s disease is one important possibility, but it is not...

Anxiety Screening: How Doctors Screen for Anxiety Disorders

Learn how doctors screen for anxiety disorders using tools like the GAD-2 and GAD-7, clinical questions, and follow-up evaluation to decide what symptoms may need treatment.

Anxiety screening is usually the first step in finding out whether worry, fear, panic, avoidance, or physical tension may be part of an anxiety...

Anxiety vs ADHD: How Doctors Tell the Difference

Learn how doctors tell anxiety from ADHD by comparing symptoms, triggers, timeline, testing, and overlap so the right diagnosis and treatment are easier to understand.

Trouble concentrating can feel confusing when anxiety and ADHD both seem possible. A person may feel restless, forgetful, scattered, overwhelmed, or unable to finish...

APOE Genetic Testing for Alzheimer’s Risk: What It Can and Cannot Tell You

Learn what APOE genetic testing for Alzheimer’s risk can and cannot tell you, how to interpret e2, e3, and e4 results, and when genetic counseling matters most.

APOE genetic testing can feel both useful and unsettling because it gives information about future Alzheimer’s risk, not a simple yes-or-no answer. A result...

ASQ Suicide Screening: What It Measures and When It Is Used

Learn what the ASQ suicide screening tool measures, where it is used, what a positive screen means, and how it fits into clinical suicide risk assessment and next-step safety planning.

Suicide risk can be difficult to recognize from appearance, mood, or the reason someone came to a clinic or emergency department. Some people who...

ASRS ADHD Test: What It Measures and What Results Mean

Learn what the ASRS ADHD test measures, how ASRS scoring works, what a positive screen means, and when to seek a full adult ADHD evaluation.

The ASRS is a brief questionnaire used to screen for adult ADHD symptoms. It can be a useful starting point when problems with focus,...

At-Home Cognitive Tests: What They Can and Cannot Tell You

Learn what at-home cognitive tests can and cannot tell you, how accurate home memory and thinking screens really are, and when a concerning result should lead to professional evaluation.

At-home cognitive tests can be useful when memory, focus, language, planning, or mental speed feels different than it used to. They can give you...

AUDIT vs AUDIT-C: Alcohol Screening Tests Explained

Learn the difference between AUDIT and AUDIT-C, how each alcohol screening test is scored, when doctors use one over the other, and what a positive result actually means.

Alcohol screening tests can help identify drinking patterns that may be affecting health, safety, mood, sleep, relationships, or daily functioning. AUDIT and AUDIT-C are...

Autism Screening in Toddlers: Early Signs and Common Tests

Learn the early signs of autism in toddlers, when screening happens, which tests are commonly used, and what a positive autism screen means for next steps and evaluation.

Autism can often be recognized earlier than many families expect, but the first clues are not always dramatic. A toddler may be affectionate, active,...

Autism Testing in Adults: How Adult Autism Is Diagnosed

Learn how autism testing in adults works, what a full adult autism evaluation includes, which tools clinicians use, and how doctors separate autism from overlapping conditions.

Many adults seek an autism evaluation after years of feeling different, exhausted by social demands, unusually sensitive to certain environments, or repeatedly misunderstood at...

Autism Testing in Children: What the Full Diagnostic Workup Looks Like

Learn what a full autism evaluation in children includes, from screening and developmental history to ADOS, language and cognitive testing, differential diagnosis, and next-step recommendations.

When a child is referred for autism testing, families are often trying to understand much more than whether one label fits. They want to...

Autism vs ADHD: How Doctors Tell the Difference

Learn how doctors tell the difference between autism and ADHD, where symptoms overlap, when both can occur, and what a full evaluation looks at.

Autism and ADHD can look similar from the outside. A child may seem distracted, avoid eye contact, have big reactions to changes, talk intensely...

Baseline Concussion Testing for Athletes: When It Helps, When It Doesn’t, and Who Needs It

Learn when baseline concussion testing for athletes is useful, when it adds little, what a preseason concussion baseline includes, and why no single test should decide return to play.

A concussion can affect attention, memory, reaction time, balance, vision, sleep, mood, and school or work performance. In sports, the challenge is that no...

Behavioral Health Screening in Schools: What Students and Parents Should Expect

Learn what behavioral health screening in schools involves, how consent and privacy usually work, what happens after a positive screen, and what students and parents should expect.

Behavioral health screening in schools is meant to identify students who may be struggling socially, emotionally, behaviorally, or psychologically before problems become harder to...

Biomarkers in Brain and Mental Health: What Counts as a Biomarker and Why It Matters

Learn what counts as a biomarker in brain and mental health, how different biomarker types work, where they already help clinicians, and why psychiatry remains more complex.

Biomarkers can make brain and mental health care feel more concrete: a blood result, a scan finding, a spinal fluid measure, a genetic result,...

Bipolar Disorder Screening: How Doctors Screen for Bipolar Symptoms

Learn how doctors screen for bipolar symptoms, which bipolar screening tools they use, what a positive screen means, and how bipolar disorder is separated from look-alike conditions.

Bipolar disorder is often first suspected when a person seeks help for depression, mood swings, poor sleep, impulsive behavior, irritability, or changes in energy...

Bipolar Disorder vs ADHD: How Doctors Tell the Difference

Learn how doctors tell bipolar disorder from ADHD by looking at episodic mood changes, lifelong attention patterns, sleep, impulsivity, rating scales, overlap, and co-occurring conditions.

Bipolar disorder and ADHD can overlap in ways that make diagnosis difficult. Both can involve distractibility, restlessness, impulsive decisions, rapid speech, emotional intensity, and...

Blood Biomarker Tests for Alzheimer’s Disease: What Is Available, What They Show, and What It Means

Learn what blood biomarker tests for Alzheimer’s disease are available, what amyloid, pTau, NfL, and GFAP can show, and how doctors interpret the results.

Blood tests are changing how Alzheimer’s disease is evaluated, especially for people who already have memory loss, mild cognitive impairment, or other cognitive symptoms....