7: Dementia Flashcards
What is the most common type of dementia?
Alzheimer’s
In the DSM 5, there is a difference between major and mild neurocognitive disorders. What are the pros and cons of this?
PRO 1) public concern 2) early detection 3) early intervention CON 1) misdiagnosis
What are the 4 criteria for mild neurocognitive disorder (MCI)?
1) evidence of modest cognitive decline from previous level of performance in 1+ domain (based on individuals concern, family/friend, or clinician)
2) measurable memory impairment on standardized testing
3) cognitive deficits are insufficient to interfere with independence but greater efforts/compensatory strategies/accommodation may be required
4) not secondary to delirium/other mental disorder
What is MCI?
a transitional zone between normal cognition and dementia, but MCI may not lead to major cognitive impairment
What are 4 characteristics of delirium?
1) disturbance in attention and orientation to the environment, confusion
2) disturbance develops over a short period of time (hours to days)
3) fluctuates in severity throughout the day
4) change in additional cognitive domain such as memory, disorientation, language disturbance, etc. that isn’t accounted for by other neurocognitive disorder
What are 7 causes of delirium in the elderly population?
1) medications (esp. anti-depressants, anti-psychotics)
2) infections
3) metabolic disorders
4) surgery, anesthesia
5) substance withdrawal
6) kidney or liver disease
7) toxins
What are the 4 diagnostic requirements for Major neurocognitive disorders?
1) evidence of substantial cognitive decline from previous level of performance in 1+ cognitive domain (based on individuals concerns, family/friends, or clinician)
2) test performance is in the range of 2+ SD below appropriate norms
3) cognitive deficits are sufficient to interfere with independence
4) not secondary to delirium/other mental disorder
Major neurocognitive impairment must meet the following 6 requirements:
1) insidious onset of symptoms
2) not accounted for by delirium, schizophrenia, or major depression
3) must be acquired
4) must be persistent
5) must cross several areas of cognitive function
6) must be severe enough to interfere with life (work, social activities, relationships)
What are 5 risk factors of MCI to AD?
1) age
2) APOE carrier status (can be inherited from mother or father, risk factor but not a cause)
3) DM
4) HTN
5) increased cholesterol
What are protective factors for MCI/AD?
1) absence of APOE 4 variant
2) lifetime of exercise
3) youth
4) social stimulation
5) controlled cardiovascular risk
6) non-smoking
What are 3 examples of normal aging changes in memory?
1) forgetting appointments
2) forgetting a neighbors name
3) forgetting a birthday/anniversary
What are 3 examples of dementia/major CI memory changes?
1) forgetting making an appointment
2) not recognizing a neighbor or family member
3) not recognizing a spouse’s birthdate
What are 2 examples of normal aging disorientation?
1) forgetting what day of the week it is
2) occasionally getting lost in an unfamiliar place
What are 3 examples of dementia/major CI changes in disorientation?
1) routinely don’t know what day it is
2) not recognizing what time of day it is (morning, noon, night)
3) getting lost in their own neighborhood/house
What are 2 examples of normal aging lapses in judgement?
1) dressing inappropriately for the weather
2) unintentionally violating social conventions
What are 2 examples of dementia/major CI lapses in judgement?
1) wearing a wool coat on a hot day
2) addressing a stranger as close friends
What are 2 examples of normal aging difficulties performing mentally challenging tasks?
1) making a mistake balancing the checkbook
2) difficultly programming a new smart phone
What are 2 examples of dementia/major CI difficulties performing mentally challenging tasks?
1) inability to perform simple calculations
2) difficulty remembering what a tool is for (e.g. microwave)
What is a normal aging change with misplacing things?
occasionally misplacing regularly used items (e.g. keys, purse, phone)
What is a dementia/major CI change with misplacing things?
1) putting regularly used items in an odd place (e.g. purse in the refrigerator)
What are normal aging changes in mood?
experiencing a wide range of emotions in response to life events
What are dementia/major CI changes in mood?
exhibiting rapid changes in mood that occur for no apparent reason or for trivial reasons
What are 5 types of dementia?
1) Alzheimer’s (early and late onset)
2) vascular dementia
3) dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB)
4) frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD)
5) subcortial dementia
What is the most common type of dementia?
Alzheimer’s
When does early-onset dementia/AD occur?
age 30-60
What is the cause of early-onset dementia/AD?
genetics
When does late-onset dementia/AD occur?
ages 60+
What is the cause of late-onset dementia/AD?
unknown (combo genetic, lifestyle, environmental factors)
Late onset AD typically causes selective changes in ___________ and __________ __________ in the early stages. Why?
episodic and working memory
it starts in the hippocampus (medial temporal lobe) and enthorhinal cortex
What is the neuropathy of AD? 1/3
3 microscopic changes:
1) neurofibrillary tangles
2) neuritic plaques
3) granulovascular degeneration
What are neurofibrillary tangles?
threadlike structures normally found in the cell bodies, dendrites, axons and sometimes in the synaptic endings of neurons in the brain
What happens with neurofibrillary tangles in AD?
neurofibrils become twisted, tangled, and clumped together
also found in parkinsons and progressive supranuclear palsy
What are neuritic plaques?
minute areas of tissue degeneration consisting of granular deposits, concentrated in the cortical and subcortical regions
What do neuritic plaques cause?
significant reduction in neuronal synapses which impact transmission
Neuropathology changes are not _______.
They most frequently affect the ______________-___________ junctions and the ____________ ______________ lobes.
diffuse
temporoparietal-occipital junctions
inferior temporal lobes
In AD, the _____________ lobes, ________ and __________ cortex, and the ____________ lobes are usually spared in the beginning.
frontal lobes
motor and sensory cortex
occipital
What is typically the earliest/most prominent manifestation of AD?
episodic memory issues
What 4 things are typically well reserved in early stages of AD?
1) phonology
2) syntax
3) articulation
4) voice quality
What type of word retrieval problems occur in early stage AD?
mild, can recognize and try to correctt
Pts with early stage AD have occasional mild __________ _____________ and subtle _______________ impairments
verbal paraphasias
comprehension
In functional reading comprehension tasks, early stage AD pts typically have difficulty with what?
longer length or more complex information
Early stage AD pts have preserved _________________
automatics
Early stage AD pts have decreased _____________ _______________ and ___________ ______________
sustained attention
mental flexibility
Early stage AD pts are adequate ________________________ but may have issues with: (4)
conversationalists
1) humor
2) sarcasm
3) verbosity
4) topic maintenance
What are the neuropathologic hallmarks of early stage AD?
neurofibrillary changes limited to entorhinal and transentorhinal regions
Middle stage AD pts have ______-_____________ problems that become obvious in ____________________ and increased difficulty with _________-______________ of mistakes
word-finding
conversation
self-correction