Confusion in the Elderly Flashcards
What are the 5 major causes of confusion in the elderly?
Delirium, depression, dementia, metabolic and drugs
What is dementia?
Progressive decline in higher cortical function, impairment of memory, intellect and personality
What is the age cut off for early onset dementia?
65 years old
Which lobes are mostly affected in alzheimers?
frontal, parietal and temporal
What is the genetics that causes late-onset alzhiemers?
Apolipoprotein E
What 2 classes of drugs are used to treat alzhiemers?
ACEi and memantine
What causes Lewy Body dementia?
Aggregation of alpha-synuclein protein, deposits in substantia nigra, temporal lobe, frontal lobe and cingulate gyrus
What is the presenting complaint in Lewy Body dementia?
variations in attention, visual hallucinations and features of parkinsonism
What is the presenting complaint in Fronto-temporal dementia?
Altered personality, behaviour and social conduct. Expressive dysphasia and receptive dysphasia and primitive reflexes
What are the risk factors for vascular dementia?
Cardiovascular disease risk factors, smoking diabetes hypertention etc
What is used to asses delirium?
Confusion assessment method (CAM)
What are the causes of delirium?
Drug toxicity, endocrine, liver failure, intracranial, renal failure, infections, urinary retention and metabolic
