Cognitive Disorders Flashcards
3 causes of a disorientated patitent
Amnesia
Dementia
Delirium
Cognition
ability to acquire new information and understand it
Impaired cognition AKA
Disorientation
Orientation is defined as
knowledge of person, time and place
Causes of disorientation
Fever/Infection
Alcohol/drugs
Hypoglycaemia
Electrolyte Abnormalities
Delirium
Dementia
Amnesia is defined as
loss of memory
What is amnesia often caused by?
CNS injury
Types of amnesia
Retrograde
Anterograde
Dissociative
Retrograde amnesia
Loss of memories in the past
Retained ability to make new memories
E.g. patient wakes up post-concussion and doesn’t remember his close ones
Anterograde amnesia
Inability to make new memories
Remembers the past
E.g. patient spends 5 days at the hospital post-concussion but forgets the previous day
Dissociative amnesia
Special form not caused by CNS injury
Usually as a result of psychological trauma/stress
Inability to remember autobiographical info
What type of amnesia leads to a loss of past memories, but retains the ability to make new memories?
Retrograde
What type of amnesia leads to an inability to make new memories, but remembers the past?
Anterograde
What type of amnesia is NOT caused by CNS injury? What is it usually a result of?
Dissociative, usually aa result of psychological trauma/stress
What type of amnesia results in an inability to remember autobiographical info?
Dissociative amnesia
What can severe dissociative amnesia lead to?
Dissociative fugue
NB: Dissociative fugue isa symptom where a person with memory loss travels or wanders. That leaves the person in an unfamiliar setting with no memory of how they got there. This symptom usually happens with conditions caused by severe trauma.
What causes of amnesia are associated with vitamin B1 (Thiamine) deficiency and acoholism?
Wernicke-Korsakoff
Triad of Wernicke
Confusion, Ataxia and Ophthalmoplegia
Treatment of Wernicke
B1 infusion
Difference between wernicke and korsakoff
Wernicke causes acute encephalopathy
Korsakoff is a permanent neurologic condition
Korsakoff is ALWAYS preceded by Wernicke
Features of Korsakoff
Triad of Wernicke - Confusion, ataxia and opthalmoplegia
+ amnesia (anterograde>retrograde), confabulation (making things up) and personality changes
What type of amnesia is more common in korsakoff?
Anterograde
What is confabulation?
brain makes up memories to fill in things that their amnesia has caused them to forget
Which of Wernicke-Korsakoff is reversible?
Wernicke
What is dementia?
Chronic progressive decline in mental state
Is dementia reversible?
No
Do you get LOC with dementia?
No
Causes of dementia
Alzheimer’s (60%)
Vascular dementia (20%)
Lewy Body (HaLEWYcinations)
Rare: Pick’s disease, Creutzfeldts-Jakobs, HIV, vitamin deficiencies, Wilson’s
Pseudodementia
Most common cause of dementia
Alzheimer’
2nd most common cause of dementia
Vascular
Dementias in order of prevalence
Alzheimer’s disease (70% dementia)
Vascular Dementia (VD)
Lewy Body Dementia (DLB)
What part of brain is affected in Alzheimer’s first?
Hippocampus
Which brain regions are predominantly involved in Alzheimer’s?
Cortex and hippocampus
NOTE: Hippocampus affected first
What proteins are involved in Alzheimer’s?
Amyloid, Tau
Biggest risk factor for Alzheimer’s
Increasing age
How does Alzheimer’s present?
THINK: 4 A’s
Amnesia - Recent memories lost first; disorientation occurs early
Aphasia - Aphasia in finding correct words (Broca’s), speech muddled/disjointed
Agnosia - Typically “Visual” (i.e. prosopagnosia – recognising faces)
Apraxia - Typically “Dressing” (skilled tasks, despite normal motor functioning)
Which memories are lost first in Alzheimer’s?
Recent memories lost first, disorientation occurs early
What region of the brain causes the aphasia in Alzheimer’s?
Broca’s –> aphasia in finding correct words
Aphasia in finding correct words
Broca’s area affected
What type of agnosia is typically seen in Alzheimer’s?
“Visual” (i.e. prosopagnosia – recognising faces)
What is prospagnosia? What is it seen in?
Inability to recognise faces, seen in Alzheimer’s
What type of cognitive deterioration is seen in Alzheimer’s?
Gradual