Alzheimer's disease

Question 1

what causes alzheimer’s

Answer 1

disruption of cholinergic pathways in the brain and synaptic loss
-extracellular amyloid plaques
-intracellular neurofibrillary tangles

Question 2

presentation

Answer 2

-gradual onset
-decline in short term memory
-autobiographical and political memory often well preserved
-poor connection
-poor sleep
-low mood
-personality change

END STAGE
-hallucinations
-poor dentition
-skin ulcers
-loss of verbal communication

Question 3

what is posterior cortical atrophy

Answer 3

an atypical presentation
-visuospatial disturbance
-commonly referred from opthalmology

Question 4

what is progressive primary aphasia

Answer 4

atypical presentation
-semantic
-logopenic aphasia
-non-fluent aphasia

People who have it can have trouble expressing their thoughts and understanding or finding words

Question 5

investigations

Answer 5

-clinical history
-MRI
-SPECT
-CSF
-research

Question 6

what would be found on MRI

Answer 6

-atrophy of temporal/parietal lobes

Question 7

what would be seen on SPECT

Answer 7

decrease in temporoparietal metabolism

Question 8

what would be seen in the CSF

Answer 8

decrease in amyloid and increase in tau ratio

Question 9

management

Answer 9

-address vascular risk factors
-acetylcholine boosting recovery (cholinesterase inhibitors and NMDA receptor blockers)
-memantine

Question 10

at what age is AD early onset and sporadic

Answer 10

<65 = early onset
>65 = sporadic