Altered mental state

Question 1

What are the common neurological and non neuro causes of altered mental state

Answer 1

neuro: seizures, stroke, CVA disease, CNS infection, CNS malignancy, hypertensive encephalopathy, dementia
non neuro: toxic-metabolic encephalopathy, Korsakoff’s syndrome, Wernicke’s encephalopathy

Question 2

Differences between demetia and delirium

Answer 2

DM: chronic development of cognitive dysfunction (over years)
DL: an acute altered mental status (developing over hours to days)

Question 3

Most cases of dementia are

____ are not really demented but have
significant depression or transient altered mental states

____ of those with apparent dementia
have a potentially treatable disorder.

Answer 3

irreversible

15%

10%

Question 4

Criteria for dementia diagnosis (3)

most common cause of treatable dememtia

Answer 4

-Has no single cause
-wide range of disturbances
-commonly chronic and irreverisble
-most common cause of -treatable dementia is medications

Question 5

Characteristics of alzheimer’s disease (5)

Answer 5

• one of the most common degen diseases of the brain
• an
  increase in frequency of the disease with age
• cause is unknown
• ACh has been found to be
  substantially reduced as well as the enzyme that produces ACh
• loss in cognition, memory, and emotional memeory

Question 6

AD affects the three processes that keep neurons healthy

Answer 6

communication, metabolism,
and repair.

Question 7

plaques form in the hippocampus and in areas of the cerebral cortex critical in
decision making in what condition

Answer 7

AD

Question 8

Alzheimer’s disease usually begins in the

what is impaired and what occurs

Answer 8

6 or 7 decade

Judgment is
impaired as is the ability to concentrate, personality changes and language disturbances

Question 9

Depression occurs in about ____ of patients with AD

Answer 9

65%

Question 10

The disease is associated with an increased risk of death – approximately
______ of the patients with AD die within 5 years of diagnosis.

Answer 10

50%

Question 11

What is dementia with lewy bodies

what does the pt develop

________ is common

Answer 11

Parkinson plus syndromes along with multiple systems atrophy

Pt develop hallucinations and fluctuations in attention and level of arousal and parkinsonism

sleep behavior disorder is common

Question 12

Frontotemporal dementia

Answer 12

• 2 categories: FTD (loss of apathy, personality changes and neuropsychiatric dysfucntion) , PPA (language deficits)