Dementia Flashcards
What is dementia?
syndrome that affects all part of the brain
leads to impairment and deterioration of cognition
so you get a decline of day to day function in clear consciousness
What is the ICD 10?
lists factors needed to be present to diagnose dementia
What things are seen when people have dementia?
loss of memory hard to learn new information environment awareness is preserved cognitive abilities decline= planning, organising less emotional control
How long should the symptoms of dementia be present for it to be diagnosed as dementia?
6 months
How is Alzheimer’s dementia defined?
- Impaired memory + 1 of:
aphasia (impairment of language)
apraxia (motor disorder where a person has difficulty planning to perform a task)
agnosia (inability to process sensory information)
executive dysfunction (lack of organization)
What are the different types of dementia?
Alzheimer’s dementia (50-60%)
Vascular dementia (15-20%)
Dementia with Lewy bodies (10-15%)
Frontotemporal dementia (4-6%)
What is the overall prevalence of dementia in over 65’s?
7%-10%
What do you need to do to diagnose dementia?
- history
- PMH
- FH
- COLLATERAL HISTORY - physical exam
- cognitive tests
- other investigations
What test is used to look at cognitive function?
ace III
What does the ace III cognitive test look at?
impairments on attention
impaired memory
mild impairment on naming things
language and spatial recognition is intact
What will a CT/ MRI scan show in a dementia patient?
hippocampal atrophy
What non-cognitive features arise with dementia?
depression anxiety hallucination wandering angry agitated apathy= lack of interest
Other than memory deficits what other problems do patients with ALZHEIMER’S face?
7 A'S anosognia agnosia aphasia apraxia altered perception amnesia apathy
What is anosognia?
unaware something is wrong with the person
What is agnosia?
cant recognise things through their senses
What is aphasia?
loss of language ability
What is apraxia?
cant do motor functions
What is altered perception?
misinterpretation of information from sensory organs
What are the risk factors for alzheimer’s?
increasing age diabetes hypertension atrial fibrillation family history genes associated with dementia (Apo E4) hypothyroidism head trauma
What is the mini mental state examination score of an alzheimer’s patient?
between 10-26
score reduces by about 3 points per year
What is the pathophysiology of alzheimer’s?
neuronal cell death- mainly cholinergic
amyloid plaques
neurofibrillary tangles
What are amyloid plaques made of?
beta amyloid
cleaved from amyloid precursor proteins
On what chromosome are amyloid precursor proteins found?
21
What do neurofibrillary tangles do?
damage axons of neurones
disrupt neurones cytoskeleton leading to neuronal dysfunction and death.
Which people are most likely to develop dementia?
people with mild cognitive impairment and hippocampal atrophy
What is vascular dementia?
happens after stroke
caused by reduced blood supply to the brain due to diseased blood vessels- leading to neuronal cell death
How many types of vascular dementia are there and what are they?
2: small vessel and large vessel
What is large vessel disease?
Strategic single infarct e.g. thalamus
Multiple cortical GREY MATTER infarcts (MID)
20-30% post-stroke develop dementia (not immediately after the stroke)