L17 - Ageing of the central nervous system Flashcards
How does your brain volume change when you age?
Decreases by 5% every decade past the age of 40
What causes the decrease in volume as you age?
It is from loss of neuronal volume not number of neurones
Where is the most volume lost in the brain?
Prefrontal cortex is affected the most
What are the main cells that increase with age?
The neuronal cells remain in the same numbers but decrease in numbers
The microglia increase in numbers and display the inflammatory phenotype
What can cause increased white matter lesions with aging?
Reduced blood flow, mainly to the frontal lobes due to anterior cerebral artery reduced flow.
What are the stages of cognitive decline?
Preclinical stage - where there are neurological changes taking place but these are not measurable or detectable on tests. The individual may notice changes but the doctor doesn’t.
MCI (mild cognitive impairment) - cognitive changes are of concern to individual or family. Affect certain cognitive domains, however preserved activities of daily living.
Dementia - Cognitive impairment that is severe enough to interfere with everyday living.
What are some of the main types of dementia?
Alzheimers
Vascular disease
Lewy-body dementia
What is delerium?
An acute neuropsycological condition that affects attention, alertness and cognition.
What is the mechnism behing parkinsons?
It is loss of dopaminergic production in the nigrostriatal neurones aswell as decreased striatal dopamine.
What are lewy bodies?
Abnormal aggregates of protein that accumulate in the nerve cells of people with PD.
What are the triad of symptoms seen with parkinsons?
Bradykinesia (slow movement)
Tremor (resting tremor and pill rolling)
Rigidity (cogwheel rigidity, throughout range of movement)
Why are dopaminergic neurones affected more significantly than others in parkinsons?
They have very high oxidative stress due to the increased metabolic activity compared to other neurones.
