Dementia Flashcards
What tests can be used to assess cognition?
ACE-III
MoCA
FAB
Give some reversible causes of cognitive impairment
Delirium Alcohol Medication Metabolic disorders Depression Brain lesions
What is the commonest cause of dementia?
Alzheimer’s disease
Give some features of Alzheimer’s disease
Short-term memory loss
Dysphasia
Dyspraxia
Agnosia
Give some features of vascular dementia
Dysphasia
Dyscalculia
Frontal lobe symptoms
Affective symptoms
What are the three syndromes of frontotemporal dementia?
Behavioural
Primary progressive aphasia
Semantic dementia
Give some features of the behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia
Behavioural changes
Impulsivity
Loss of social skills
Apathy
Give some features of primary progressive aphasia
Non-fluent speech
Lack of grammar
Lack of words
Give some features of semantic dementia
Impaired understanding of word meaning
Difficulty retrieving speech
Give any of the two features required for a diagnosis of Lewy Body dementia
Visual hallucinations Fluctuating cognition REM sleep behaviour disorder Parkinsonism Positive DAT scan
For how long must a patient have Parkinsonism to diagnose Parkinsonian dementia?
At least 1 year
What imaging is used as standard in Alzheimer’s disease?
CT
When is SPECT imaging used?
Frontotemporal dementia
When is DaT imaging used?
To clarify Parkinson’s plus syndromes
How do the basal ganglia appear in a DaT scan of Parkinson’s plus syndrome?
Full stops - should look like commas
What is the main drug class used to treat mild dementia?
Cholinesterase inhibitors
Give some examples of cholinesterase inhibitors
Donepezil
Rivastigmine
Galantamine
Which cholinesterase inhibitor is licensed in Parkinson’s plus syndromes?
Rivastigmine
What is the effect of cholinesterase inhibitors?
Increase the amount of ACh in the brain
What drug can be started in moderate dementia?
Memantine
