While there is still no cure for Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia; there is a simple, self-administered test that can help doctors discover and begin to treat it early enough to make a real difference in the quality of life for their patients.

That's what researchers at the Ohio State University discovered, when they conducted a study on the effectiveness of having primary care doctors keep track of their patients' mental acuity over a period of years, by having them take the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Exam (SAGE) test.

According to Dr. Douglas Scharre, who is the director of the Division of Cognitive Neurology at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and lead author of a study published in Frontiers In Geriatric Medicine; using the SAGE test during a primary care physician visit, greatly increased the detection of new cognitive conditions or concerns.

We talked to to Dr. Scharre about it recently. Listen now:

Dr. Douglas Scharre, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center