A general doctor can start the memory workup, order initial blood tests and treat reversible contributors. A neurologist adds a structured cognitive assessment, a detailed neurological examination, interpretation of imaging and biomarkers, and the ability to distinguish between the different causes of dementia.
A general doctor can start the memory workup, order initial blood tests and treat reversible contributors. A neurologist adds a structured cognitive assessment, a detailed neurological examination, interpretation of imaging and biomarkers, and the ability to distinguish between the different causes of dementia.
Your general doctor knows your history, your medication list and what has changed over years, which is genuinely valuable and hard to replicate. What a neurologist adds is pattern recognition across dementia types. Alzheimer's disease, vascular cognitive impairment, Lewy body dementia and frontotemporal dementia present differently and are managed differently, and telling them apart is a specialist task.
It is not academic. Certain medications that are routine in one dementia type can be poorly tolerated in another, and prognosis and planning differ considerably. Getting the type right also determines whether someone may be eligible for research studies, which narrows as the condition progresses.
Thyroid disease, vitamin B12 deficiency, sleep apnoea, depression, alcohol and a number of common medications all impair memory and several improve with treatment. A workup that has not looked for these is incomplete regardless of who performed it, and finding one is a far better outcome than a biomarker result. Ask at the end of the appointment which clinician is responsible for what, and when you should be seen again. A memory assessment that produces a diagnosis but no stated review interval leaves the family managing alone until something goes wrong, which is the commonest complaint about how these conditions are handled.
Clinical Neurology Specialists has been physician-owned since 1998, when Leo Germin, M.D., FAANEM founded it. Five board-certified neurologists and four advanced practice providers see patients at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, each with its own AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory.
Clinical Neurology Specialists is an adult outpatient neurology practice for patients 18 and older. The practice performs no surgery and operates no imaging suite, infusion suite or interventional pain programme, and provides no emergency or inpatient care.
Physician-reviewed. Reviewed by the physicians of Clinical Neurology Specialists — board-certified neurologists, AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories, physician-owned since 1998. Reviewed 1 August 2026. This article is general education for adults 18 and older and is not a substitute for a consultation.
Sources and further reading: MedlinePlus: Alzheimer disease; National Institute on Aging; MedlinePlus: memory.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.