Dementia Flashcards
Define dementia?
Dementia is a progressive and largely irreversible syndrome that is characterised by a widespread impairment of mental function.
Can dementia have different affects on diffrent people?
Yes depending what part of the brain is affected determiens the symptoms
What are the conditions that mimic dementia?
Depression Iatrogenic (anticholinergics, sedatives, narcotics, H2 blockers, multiple meds) Hypothyroidism B12 deficiency Neurosyphilis Normal pressure hydrocephalus need to number of lumbar punctures to reduce pressure Subdural hematoma Encephalitis
what is the classification of dementia?
Based on site
Anterior/posterior
or
Subcortical/cortical
Give examples MOVEMENT DISORDERS?
Parkinson’s Disease
Huntington’s Disease
Motor Neuron Disease
Parkinson plus syndrome
Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
Multiple System Atrophy
Corticobasal Degeneration
What are symptoms of Frontotemporal Dementia?
Behavioural/frontal variant
Non-fluent progressive aphasia
Semantic Dementia
What are the current molecular - genetic classification of neurodegenerative diseases. Example of each
Tauopathies
Corticobasal Degeneration*
Alzheimer’s Disease
Synucleinopathies
Parkinson’s Disease
Dementia with Lewy Bodies
MSA
Ubiquinopathies
Motor neuron disease and MND/Dementia*
Semantic Dementia*
What is the triad of symptoms of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus?
Dementia
Gait disturbance
Urinary incontinence
occuring in conjunction with hydrocephalus and normal CSF pressure (possibly, intermittently raised a better term).
What are the two types of normal pressure hydrocephalus?
NPH with a preceding cause (SAH, meningitis, trauma, radiation-induced).
NPH with no known preceding cause – idiopathic (50%).
What will be seen in MRI of a person with Varient CJD?
Characteristic abnormality seen in the posterior thalamic region (the so
called “pulvinar sign”) which is highly sensitive and specific for vCJD
What will be seen in MRI of a person with sporadic CJD?
Non-specific
changes basal
ganglia
What are common symptoms of a person with Cortical basal degeneration ?
Gain difficulty with one side of the arm mainly right –> hard to control
Then over a couple of months develop similar problems in the leg.
Speech becomes sparse
Bradykinetic on right, no tremore and midl rigidity
Key facts of Limbic Encephalitis due to Voltage Gated Potassium Channel ?
Subacute memory loss
Psychiatric/behavioural disturbance
Seizures, usually partial
Hyponatraemia common
60 % show MTL high signal on MRI
Most cases serum and CSF antibodies to LGI1 subunit of the K channel, others CASPR2
Median age 65 years, 2:1 male:female
Thymoma/SCLC and other tumour may be present but are not commonly associated (more so if CASPR2 ab.)
If no tumour prognosis very good with immuno-modulation
Blood test is used
What discrimination occurs with dementia?
Significant misunderstanding about and stigma attached to dementia
Manifests itself in widespread discriminatory attitudes.
Age discrimination.
Risk of discrimination and infringements of their human rights because they may not have the capacity to challenge abuses of their human rights or to report what has occurred.
Fear of the diagnosis
Misunderstandings about dementia: that it is a natural part of ageing, that it only affects older people and that nothing can be done to help people live well with it
Poor quality care and failure to deliver services
Avoidance of people with dementia
What is the limbic system involved in? If there is disorder what happens?
Limbic system: arousal, emotion, motivation, attention, and memory
Lack of emotion, lack of motivation and memory. The people are always sad and disinterested
What is the action of parietal lobe?
Executive functions: motor, planning,, strategic thinking
What is the role of hippocampus?
Major memory sight –> where new memory is formed and stored
What sight in the brain is damaged mainly in alzheimer’s disease?
Hippocampus
What is cognition?
Is the sum of brain functions which allows us to integrate in the environment.
What skills are invovled in cognition?
Learning and Memory Language visuospatial skills Emotion Personality
What is the route of the microcircuit of the brain?
Neuron > Synapse > neurotransmitter > action potential
If the neurone dies it cannot be regenerated –> depending where it is that function will be lost.
What are the differenet classifications of Neurodegenerative disorders?
Give examples of each
Functional
Cognitive disorders, e.g. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Movement disorders, e.g. Parkinson disease (PD
Anatomical –> Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), Corticobasal degeneration (CBD
Etiological, vascular dementia (VaD), Prion disease
Proteinopathy,Taupathy (AD), α-Synucleinopathy (DLB)