Dementia Flashcards
Q: What is Dementia?
A: An acquired global impairment of intellect, memory, and personality without impairment of consciousness, usually progressive.
Q: What are the typical presenting signs of dementia?
A: Memory impairment, difficulty finding words, decline in finances/work performance, personality/mood changes, and sudden withdrawal or unusual behavior.
Q: What are the main types of dementia?
A: Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, mixed dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia, and dementia in Huntington’s disease.
Q: What are some causes of dementia?
A: Degenerative disorders, vascular causes, trauma, infections, tumors, anoxia, toxic, endocrine, and metabolic causes.
Q: What is the most common cause of dementia?
A: Alzheimer’s disease.
Q: What happens to the brain in Alzheimer’s disease?
A: The brain shrinks, loses weight, and develops neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques, leading to neuron loss.
Q: What are the clinical features of Alzheimer’s disease?
A: Gradual memory impairment, aphasia, executive function decline, depression, and psychotic symptoms.
Q: What is the second most common cause of dementia?
A: Vascular dementia.
Q: What conditions contribute to vascular dementia?
A: High blood pressure, irregular heart conditions, and artery diseases affecting the brain.
Q: What are the two core features required for a diagnosis of probable Dementia with Lewy Bodies ?
A: Fluctuating cognition with variations in attention/alertness and recurrent, well-formed visual hallucinations
Q: Why is an accurate diagnosis of DLB important?
A: Because people with DLB are highly sensitive to neuroleptics but respond well to cholinesterase inhibitors.
Q: How does frontotemporal dementia differ from Alzheimer’s?
A: It primarily affects behavior and personality rather than memory in early stages.
Q: What are common early signs of frontotemporal dementia?
A: Disinhibition, lack of judgment, emotional blunting, and speech difficulties.
Q: What causes Huntington’s disease?
A: A defective gene on chromosome 4 that is dominantly inherited.
Q: What are early symptoms of Huntington’s disease?
A: Choreoform movements (fidgeting/thrashing), early depression, and retained insight.
Q: What are the main types of dementia medications?
A: Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and glutamate receptor antagonists.
Q: Name three acetylcholinesterase inhibitors used in dementia treatment.
A: Donepezil, Galantamine, and Rivastigmine.
Q: What does Memantine (Ebixa) do?
A: Blocks excess glutamate activity to reduce Alzheimer’s symptoms.
Q: What does the frontal lobe control?
A: Memory, emotions, decision-making, reasoning, and personality.
Q: What does the parietal lobe process?
A: Sensory integration, spatial awareness, and touch perception.
Q: What is the primary function of the occipital lobe?
A: Vision processing.
Q: What are the functions of the temporal lobe?
A: Hearing, language comprehension, and memory formation.
Q: What tests help diagnose dementia?
A: Medical history, physical exam, blood tests, cognitive testing, and brain scans (CT or MRI).
