236 - Dementia Flashcards
What are differentials of an elderly person with ? dementia?
Physical illness (hypothyroid? infection?)
Delerium
Mild cognitive impairment (decline greater than expected but doesn’t interfere with daily life)
Depression
Sensory impariments
What are the ICD 10 criteria for dementia?
Acquired impairment > 6 months in memory \+ impaired in at least 1 of: - executive function - language - Praxis - Gnosis
What are the 4 domains of impariment seen in dementia?
Cognitive
Activities of daily living
Neuropsychiatric / behavioural
Caregiver burden
What are some cognitive tests used in dementia?
6 item CIT: Kingshill Clockface test Mini mental state exam ACE-III: addenbrookes MoCA: montreal cognitive exam
What key tests should be done when thinking of dementia?
Bloods (inc. TFT, B12/folate)
CXR
EEG
CT brain - for exclusion or other causes, and can see ischaemia or atrophy.
? MRI brain - better white matter detail, but hard to tollerate when confused
SPECT/DAT/PET - specialised tests to look at regional blood flow ect.
What are 5 main types of dementia?
Alzheimers (50%) Vascular Parkinson's Lew-body Fronto-temporal
Describe Alzheimer’s dementia
Insidious onset + gradual decline.
B amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (caused by Tau protein)
Deficit in Cholinergic (AcH) system - Glutamate overactivation of NMDA - get cerebral atrophy and ventricular dilatation.
What are the risk factors for dementia?
Age >70
F:M is 2:1
Head injury, environment…
Genetics - 40% of
Describe Vascular dementia?
Sudden onset with step wise deterioration.
Mood and behavioural changes occuer
Insight is preserved
Can fluctuate
Neuropathology: atherosclerosis -> single or multiple thrombolic infarcts
On imaging: Large volume infarcts, lacunae (small volume deep grey matter ischaemia. Leukonosis (looks white despite being grey matter)
What are the risk factors for vascular dementia?
Smoking Diabetes High cholesterol High Bp Male
Describe parkinson’s dementia?
Pt has prominent parkinsonian features that are present >6 months before the dementia began,
What is Lewy-body dementia?
Mild parkinsonian motor featires Cognitive and motor onset together Fluctuating cognition Vicid hallucinations act out dreams Repeated falls
Lewy bodies often see in substansia nigra
Describe front-temporal dementia
Pt express apathy, reduced motivation, self-neglect, disinhibited, reduced social awareness.
Have personality changes
Loss of language
Variable memory loss
Ofter
What is delerium?
An acute, sudden onset fluctuating, confusional state.
Abnormal attention and arousal, perceptual abnormalities, impaired conscious level.
Increase risk of death
Usually associated with illness - so treat cause
Review medication
Avoid provocation or over stimulation
What is BPSD in dementia?
Behavioural + psychiatric symptoms of depression
60% of pt have these, espeically in later stages.
eg. agitation, agression, restlessness, depression, anxiety, delusions, disinhibitions.
Management - Antipsychoitics? Only if really needed, study showed they actually increase mortality.
Try alternative therapies - reminiscence, aromatherapy