Dementia & Old Age Psychiatry Flashcards
For a patient to be treated under the Mental Health Act (MHA), what 3 criteria must they meet?
1) They must have a mental disorder
2) There must be a risk to their health/safety or the safety of others
3) There must be a treatment (however this can include nursing care, not just drugs)
Does MHA permit the treatment of physical problems?
MHA only permits the treatment of mental health problems, UNLESS a patient’s physical problem is a result of or a cause of their mental disorder (e.g. refeeding in anorexia).
When is the Mental Capacity Act used?
When a person lacks capacity
What does the MCA allow?
It allows doctors (or less commonly, those with Lasting Power of Attorney) to make decisions in the best interests of their patient.
What are the 5 key principles of the MCA?
1) A person is assumed to have capacity unless proven otherwise
2) Steps must be taken to help a person have capacity
3) An unwise decision does not mean a person lacks capacity
4) Any decisions made under the MCA must be in the person’s best interests
5) Any decisions made should be the least restrictive to a person’s rights and freedoms
What 4 criteria must a person meet to have capacity?
- Understand relevant information
- Retain the relevant information
- Weigh up the relevant information
- Communicate a decision
Definition of dementia?
Syndrome that involves chronic impairment of multiple higher cortical functions e.g. memory, thinking, orientation, comprehension, and language.
What is the most common type of dementia?
Alzheimer’s
What is the 2nd most common type of dementia?
Vascular
What is a tauopathy?
A neurodegenerative disorder characterised by the deposition of abnormal tau protein in the brain.
Give a type of dementia that is a tauopathy with Beta-Amyloid
Alzheimer’s
Give 3 types of dementia that are a tauopathy without Beta-Amyloid
- Fronto-temporal Dementia
- Corticobasal degeneration
- Progressive supranuclear palsy
What is a Synucleinopathy
A group of neurodegenerative disorders characterised by the accumulation of the protein alpha-synuclein to form inclusions in the cell bodies or axons of neurons or oligodendrocytes.
Give 3 examples of alpha-Synucleinopathies
- Lewy body dementia
- Parkinson’s disease
- Multiple System’s Atrophy
What is a polyglutamine disorder?
Caused by expansion of CAG (cytosine-adenine-guanine) leading to a large polyglutamine tract.
Give an example of a polyglutamine disorder?
Huntington’s disease
What is vascular dementia caused by?
Reduced blood flow to brain
Name the 1ary neurodegenerative disorders
Alzheimer’s Disease
Fronto-temporal Dementia
Corticobasal degeneration
Progressive supranuclear palsy
Lewy Body Dementia
Parkinson’s Disease
Multiple System’s Atrophy
Huntington’s Disease
(N.B. vascular is 2ary)
Give the 10 subtypes of 2ary dementias
- Infectious
- Trauma
- Post-ictal state
- Toxic
- Autoimmune
- Metabolic
- Neoplastic
- Congenital
- Endocrine
- Functional
Examples of infectious causes of dementia
o Von Economo
o Whipple’s disease
o Encephalitis/meningitis
o Progressive Spongiform Encephalopathies
o AIDS-Dementia Complex
o Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis
o Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (JC polyoma Virus in AIDS)
Examples of trauma causes of dementia
o Chronic sub-dural haematoma
o Punch-drunk syndrome (dementia pugilistica)
o Normal pressure hydrocephalus
What triad is seen in normal pressure hydrocephalus?
- Gait disturbance (gait apraxia)
- Dementia
- Urinary incontinence
What can be seen on imaging in normal pressure hydrocephalus?
Ventricular enlargement (removal of CSF via repeated taps/shunts may help)
What is believed cause of normal pressure hydrocephalus?
impaired absorption of CSF at level of the arachnoid villi, possibly triggered by a bleed or head injury
Give 2 causes of toxic caused dementia
- Alcohol
- Solvent, metals including lead, carbon monoxide, barbiturates
Give 3 types of autoimmune dementia
o Sarcoidosis
o Late-stage MS
o Vasculitis
Examples of metabolic causes of dementia
o Hepatic/uremic encephalopathy
o B1 deficiency (thiamine) i.e. Wernicke-Korsakoff’s’
o B12 deficiency (cobalamin)
o B9 deficiency (folate)
o Pellagra (niacin aka nicotinamide/B3 deficiency –> triad of dermatitis, dementia, & diarrhoea)
o Electrolyte derangement (sodium)
o Glucose derangement
What is B1?
Thiamine
What is deficiency in B1 called?
Wernicke-Korsakoff’s’
What is B12?
Cobalamin
What is B9?
Folate
What is B3?
Niacin/nicotinamide
What is a deficiency in B3 called?
Pellagra
What triad is seen in Pellagra?
The three D’s:
dermatitis, dementia, & diarrhoea
What electrolyte derangement can cause metanolic induced dementia?
Sodium
Give 3 neoplastic causes of dementia
o Tumours
o Hydrocephalus due to posterior fossa tumours
o Paraneoplastic syndromes
Give 2 congenital causes of dementia
o Myotonic dystrophy
o Wilson’s disease
Give 2 endocrine causes of dementia
o Hypothyroidism
o Hyperparathyroidism
Give a functional cause of dementia
Pseudo-dementia in schizophrenia and depression
What is Alzheimer’s caused by?
Caused by characteristic neuropathological features such as amyloid plaques and tau proteins that build up in brain.
What are the 4 key features of Alzheimer’s (mnemonic 4A’s)
- Amnesia
- Aphasia
- Agnosia
- Apraxia
What is amnesia?
Memory loss - recent memories lost first
What memories are lost first in amnesia in Alzheimer’s?
Recent memories
What is aphasia?
word-finding problems, speech muddled and disjointed
What is agnosia?
recognition problems
What is apraxia?
inability to carry out skilled tasks despite normal motor function
What drugs can temporality reduce the symptoms in Alzheimer’s?
- Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors – e.g. Donepezil, galantamine, rivastigamine (in mild to moderate)
- NMDA inhibitor - memantine (in severe) –> blocks excessive amounts of glutamate
- Antidepressants
What are the characteristic histological features of Alzheimer’s?
Amyloid plaques (clumps of beta amyloid) and neurofibrillary tangles (bundles of filaments with neurons, mostly made from tau protein).
What is the hallmark of vascular dementia?
Progresses in step-wise fashion –> often shows a period of stability at one level of functioning, before an acute decline progression, followed by another period of stability
This typically occurs over a span of several months to years.
Is vascular dementia more common in males or females?
More common in males (may be due to their increased risk of vascular disease)
Risk factors for vascular dementia?
- Male
- Previous stroke (9x higher)
- Hypertension
- Other general vascular risk factors e.g. smoking, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia, obesity, hypoercholesterolaemia, AF
- Risk increases with age (rare before 65, but significantly increases after)
There are several subtypes of vascular dementia. What is the most common?
cerebrovascular infarcts