Dementia Flashcards
What is dementia?
a progressive and largely irreversible syndrome that is characterised by a widespread impairment of mental function
Disease o the medial temporal lobe, hippocampus, amygdala and limbic system lead to what?
disorders in memory and hallucinations
What is disease of the temporal neocortex associated with?
receptive dysphasia and automatisms
Disease of the parietal lobe leads to what?
impairment of visuospatial skills and integration of sensory inputs, leading to sensory agnosias and apraxias
What does disease of the frontal lobes lead to?
abnormalities in several behavioural domains - impairment of judgement, abstract reasoning, strategic planning, emotional restraint and control of appetite
What does disease of the occipital lobe lead to?
failure of visual sensory systems
Name 4 types of neurodegenerative dementias
- Alzheimer’s
- Lewy Body
- Frontotemporal
- Huntington’s disease
Which type of neurodegenerative dementia is Parkinson’s disease associated with?
Lewy body dementia
Can treatment cure vascular dementia?
no, but treatment can slow down progression
How quickly does prion disease progress?
rapid progression (untreatable) - patients often die within 2-3 months of presentation
What are the classic presentations of cortical dementia?
higher cortical abnormalities - dysphasia, agnosia, apraxia
Is Alzheimer’s cortical or sub-cortical?
cortical
How would subcortical dementia classically present?
apathetic, forgetful and slow, associated with other neurological signs and movement disorders
Which neurodegenerative diseases are associated with synucleinopathies?
- Parkinson’s disease
- Dementia with Lewy Bodies
- MSA
Which neurodegenerative diseases are associated with ubiqionopathies?
- MND and MND/dementia
- semantic dementia
What is the triad of symptoms presenting in normal pressure hydrocephalus?
- dementia
- gait disturbance
- urinary incontinence
How does transmissible spongiform encephalopathies present under a microscope?
tissue looks like a sponge
What would be noticeable in an MRI of someone with sporadic CJD?
non-specific changes in basal ganglia
What is the characteristic EEG in a patient with CJD?
triphasic waves on repeat testing
What is a ‘pulvinar sign’?
characteristic abnormality seen in the posterior thalamic region
What disease is a pulvinar sign highly sensitive and specific for?
variant CJD
What would you use to treat autoimmune encephalitis?
steroids
Define cognition
sum of brain function which allows us to integrate in the environment
What are amyloid proteins?
insoluble fibrous proteins aggregates sharing specific structural traits
