Chapter 5: Neurocognitive Disorders

Question 1

Dementia

Answer 1

continuous loss of cognitive abilities, behavioral and social skills that affect a person’s ability to function independently

Question 2

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI)

Answer 2

form of neurocognitive disorder that signifies that the individual may be at risk of developing Alzheimer’s; intermediate stage between cognitive decline of normal aging and dementia

Question 3

Amnesia

Answer 3

profound memory loss, inability to learn or remember information after the damage (anterograde) or before the damage (retrograde)

Question 4

Causes of amnesia

Answer 4

chronic substance use, medications, exposure to environmental toxins, head trauma, loss of oxygen supply to the brain, or sexually transmitted disease like herpes

Question 5

Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 5

form of neurocognitive disorder that causes the brain to atrophy, progressive and irreversible neuronal death

Question 6

Prevalence of neurocognitive disease or dementia in older adults

Answer 6

affect 5-8% of those age 60 and over, 60-70% being Alzheimer’s; doubles every five years

Question 7

Psychological symptoms of Alzheimer’s from early to later stages

Answer 7

occasional loss of memory for recent events or familiar tasks, changes in personality and behavior, loss of ability to perform the most basic everyday tasks

Question 8

Do men or women have longer survival time following diagnosis of Alzheimer’s?

Answer 8

Women have 5.7 years n average, men have 4.2 years

Question 9

Amyloid plaques

Answer 9

abnormal and insoluble deposits of protein fragments that form in the brain of a person with AD

Question 10

Neurofibrillary tangles

Answer 10

the profusion of abnormally twisted fibres within the neurons consisting of a protein called tau

Question 11

Two major biological changes in the brain of a person with Alzheimer’s

Answer 11

amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles

Question 12

Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 12

individuals that develop Alzheimer’s at 40-50 years old; believed to be due to genetics

Question 13

Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 13

individuals that develop Alzheimer’s at 60-65 years due to the presence of at least 21 genes, individually or combined (e.g. ApoE)

Question 14

Tau

Answer 14

protein that maintains the stability of microtubules that form the internal support structure of axons; disintegrates in Alzheimer’s and causes tangles

Question 15

Aphasia

Answer 15

loss of language ability

Question 16

Apraxia

Answer 16

loss of ability to carry out coordinated movement

Question 17

Agnosia

Answer 17

loss of ability to recognize familiar objects

Question 18

How is Alzheimer’s diagnosed?

Answer 18

process of exclusion and ruling out of symptoms and other possible diagnoses or autopsy

Question 19

Gold standard for diagnosing Alzheimer’s

Answer 19

NINCDS-ADRDA criteria: medical and neuropsychological screening, behavioral ratings, mental status measures

Question 20

Existing treatments for Alzheimer’s

Answer 20

medications that temporarily alleviate memory loss BUT do not slow the progression of the disease

Question 21

Caregiver burden

Answer 21

the stress that caregivers experience in the daily management of their afflicted relative

Question 22

Vascular neurocognitive disorder

Answer 22

progressive loss of cognitive functioning due to damage in arteries supplying the brain

Question 23

Multi-infarct dementia (MID)

Answer 23

kind of vascular neurocognitive disorder caused by transient ischemic attacks or mini strokes; develops faster than AD and severity depends on number of infarcts

Question 24

Frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder (FTD)

Answer 24

personality changes like apathy, lack of inhibition, obsessiveness, addictive behaviors, and loss of judgement that eventually lead to being neglectful of personal habits and loss of ability to communicate

Question 25

Parkinson’s disease

Answer 25

motor disturbances like tremors, speech impediments, slowing of movement, muscular rigidity, shuffling gait, postural instability

Question 26

Neurocognitive disorder with Lewy bodies

Answer 26

loss of mental functions like memory and reasoning, and unlike Alzheimer’s, causes episodes of confusion and hallucination

Question 27

Pick’s disease

Answer 27

severe atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes and accumulation of unusual protein deposits called Pick bodies

Question 28

Reversible neurocognitive disorders

Answer 28

presence of a medical condition that affects but does not kill the brain tissue

Question 29

Normal-pressure hydrocephalus

Answer 29

obstruction in the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, causing it to accumulate in the brain

Question 30

Subdural haematoma

Answer 30

blood clot that creates pressure on brain tissue

Question 31

Delirium

Answer 31

an acute cognitive disorder (severe and sudden onset) characterized by temporary confusion that can be caused by heart and lung diseases, infection, or malnutrition

Question 32

Polypharmacy

Answer 32

when an individual takes multiple drugs, sometimes without permission from a physician

Question 33

Wernicke’s disease

Answer 33

acute condition caused by chronic alcohol abuse that involves delirium, eye movement disturbances, difficulties with balance and movement, and deterioration of nerves to the hands and feet

Question 34

Korsakoff syndrome

Answer 34

chronic form of alcohol-induced neurocognitive disorder

Question 35

Four behavioral methods to help caregivers of AD patients

Answer 35

(1) teach behavioral methods to maintain independence (2) target problematic behaviors (3) adhere to a schedule (4) identify when patient becomes disruptive

Question 36

Early signs of AD

Answer 36

memory loss affective everyday abilities, difficulty performing familiar tasks, language and abstract thinking problems, disorientation, impaired judgement, misplacing things, changes in mood, behavior, and personality, loss of initiative

Question 37

Middle stage signs of AD

Answer 37

deeper and noticeable memory loss and mental confusion, disorientation, impaired ability for simple arithmetic, being aggressive or passive and suspicious, difficulty sleeping, depression

Question 38

Final stage signs of AD

Answer 38

severe memory loss, speech impairment, repetition of conversations, very poor reasoning and judgement, neglect of personal hygiene, personality changes, need of extensive assistance

Question 39

Signs of MCI

Answer 39

challenges with balance and coordination, repeated questions or stories, difficulty following multi-step directions and with mathematical tasks

Question 40

Impact of AD on feelings of caregivers

Answer 40

feelings of sadness and loss, grief, regret, guilt