Cognition Flashcards

1
Q

What is dementia?

A

progressive, global cognitive decline with significant impairment of normal function

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2
Q

What are some symptoms of dementia?

A
memory loss
restless, repetitive, purposeless activity 
sexual disinhibition
dysphasia
confabulation
illusions 
emotional incontinence
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3
Q

What are the 4As of alzheimer’s?

A

amnesia
aphasia
agnosia
apraxia

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4
Q

How does mild alzheimer’s present?

A

amnesia and spacial disorientation

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5
Q

How does moderate alzheimer’s disease present?

A

personality disintegration

focal parietal signs eg. dysphasia and apraxia

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6
Q

How does severe alzeimer’s present?

A

neurovegetative changes with apathy, wasting, incontinence, +/- seizures, spasticity

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7
Q

What is mild cognitive impairment?

A

cognitive decline greater than expected for an individual but without interfering notably with an individual’s life ie. no functional decline

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8
Q

What are the functions of the frontal lobe?

A
executive function
planning
sequencing
impulse inhibition
personality
motor cortex
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9
Q

What are the functions of the temporal lobe?

A

memory
speech
comprehension

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10
Q

What are the functions of the parietal lobe?

A
visuospatial
map reading
dressing
numeracy
reading
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11
Q

What are the functions of the occipital lobe?

A

vision

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12
Q

Give some non-modifiable risk factors for developing dementia

A

age

? genetic factors/ proteins

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13
Q

Give some modifiable risk factors for developing dementia

A
educational exposure
limited physical exercise
smoking
poor diet 
obesity
excess alcohol
hypertension
diabetes
hypercholesterolaemia
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14
Q

What is a primary dementia?

A

no reversible cause eg Alzheimer’s

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15
Q

What is a secondary dementia?

A

reversible cause eg. thyroid disease or B12 deficiency

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16
Q

What constitutes young-onset dementia?

A

under 65

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17
Q

What causes dementia over 65 from most common to least common?

A

Alzheimer’s disease
Vascular dementia
Lewy Body dementia
Frontotemporal dementia

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18
Q

What is the aetiology of Alzheimer’s disease?

A

unknown exact cause
inc no of beta-amyloid plaques leads to neuronal cell death
dec acetylcholine

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19
Q

What is receptive aphasia?

A

difficulty understanding information given

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20
Q

What is expressive aphasia?

A

difficulty expressing information

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21
Q

What is agnosia?

A

difficulty taking in sensory information

22
Q

What is prosopagnosia?

A

difficulty recognizing familiar faces

23
Q

What is the aetiology of vascular dementia?

A

embolism, haemorrhage or atherosclerotic plaques lead to poor circulation and neuronal death

24
Q

What increases risk of vascular dementia?

A

cardiovascular disease
diabetes
AF
uncontrolled high CV risk

25
Q

Describe the progression of vascular dementia

A

step-wise, gets worse then plateau until another event occurs

26
Q

What areas does vascular dementia affect?

A

problem solving
planning
communication
emotional lability

27
Q

How are Lewdy Body dementia and Parkinson’s disease dementia differentiated?

A

order of onset of symptoms
lewy body: dementia before parkinsonism
PDD: parkinsons for years then dementia

28
Q

What causes dementia symptoms in parkinson’s?

A

lewy body deposits (alpha-synuclein protein) in nerve cells cause loss of connection between neurones and dec in neurotransmitters dopamine and ach

29
Q

What is parkinsonism?

A

bradykinesia
resting remor
rigidity

30
Q

What are the symptoms of lewy body dementia?

A

parkinsonism
visual hallucinations - usually clear images
fluctuations during the day
REM sleep disorder

31
Q

What is frontotemporal dementia?

A

dec neurotransmitter and neurone death in the frontal and temporal lobes

32
Q

What is Pick’s disease?

A

behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia

33
Q

Who is affected by frontotemporal dementia?

A

younger onset

age 45-65

34
Q

What are the symptoms of Pick’s disease?

A
disinhibited behaviour
loss of empathy
apathy
obsessive-compulsive behaviours
inc in fatty/sugary foods
35
Q

How many patients with MCI will go on to develop dementia in a year-18 months?

A

1/3 rd

36
Q

Is there pharmacological management of MCI?

A

no only once dementia diagnosed

no evidence it works

37
Q

How is a suspected dementia investigated?

A

blood tests inc. B12, folate, TFTs to exclude reversible causes

CT head to exclude SOL, hydrocephalus, and check for atrophy/infarction

38
Q

Where is brain atrophy seen on CT of alzheimer’s?

A

medial-temporal lobe

hippocampus

39
Q

Which pharmacological management can be used first-line in mild-mod dementia?

A

acetyl cholinesterase inhibitors

40
Q

How do acetyl cholinesterase inhibitors work?

A

stop acetylcholine being broken down to preserve neurotransmitter at the synaptic cleft of central nervous system neurones

41
Q

Name 3 acetyl cholinesterase inhibitors

A

donepezil
galantamine
rivastigmine

42
Q

Why might anticholinesterases not be tolerated?

A
bradycardia
inc. gastric secretions 
diarrhoea
COPD/asthma
insomnia
motor symptoms
43
Q

What medication is used first-line in mild/mod lewy body dementia?

A

rivastigmine

44
Q

What can be used if anticholinesterases are not tolerated?

A

memantine

45
Q

What is firstline therapy in severe dementia?

A

memantine

46
Q

What is the mechanism of action of memantine?

A

NMDA receptor antagonist which reduces glutamate and slows neuronal degeneration

47
Q

Which pharmacological treatment can be used in vascular dementia?

A

none will help

manage risk factors to stop it getting worse

48
Q

What is BPSD?

A

behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia

eg. agitation, aggression, apathy, disinhibition, hallucinations, delusions

49
Q

What pharmacological management can be used for severe BPSD?

A

anti-psychotic eg. risperidone, haloperidol

50
Q

What pharmacological management can be used in frontotemporal dementia?

A

cholinesterase inhibitors may make agitation worse

SSRI may help with behavioural but not cognitive features

51
Q

Manage delirum

A

haloperidol

lorazepam if parkinson’s