Medicine of older adult 👵🏼 Flashcards
Condition and presentation
Alzheimer’s disease
- Most common form of dementia
- progressive neurodegenerative disorder that leads to cognitive decline, memory impairment, and a range of behavioural and psychological symptoms.
Epidemiology of Alzheimer’s disease
- common in older patients
- More common in women than men
- genetic association (APOE e2,3,4)
Pathophysiology of alzheimer’s
- accumulation of beta-amyloid protein fragments outside nerve cells in the form of plaques is a hallmark feature
- disruption of neural communication
- abnormal tau protein accumulates, forming neurofibrillary tangles; nutrients cant be transported
- neurotransmitter imbalance
- neural loss and brain atrophy
- inflammatory response
Risk factors for alzheimers
- APOE gene
- advancing age
- family hx
- poor lifestyle (lack of exercise, drinking, smoking)
- CVD risk
- low attainment at school
Features of Alzheimer’s disease
- Memory Impairment
- Language Impairment:
- Executive Dysfunction:
- Behavioural Changes:
- Psychological Symptoms:
- Disorientation:
- Loss of Motor Skills
Investigations for Alzheimer’s
- FBC, TFT and U+Es (rule out underlying delirum
- PET scan and MRI to identify brain atrophy
- CSF to identify biomarkers associated with alzheimers.
- cognition assessment- MOCA, MMSE, 10 pojnt scale
Managment of Alzheimer’s
- Non-pharmalogical (CBT, brain enrichment)
- family and patient education
- **cholinesterase inhibitors **(e.g. donepezil)
- N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists (e.g. memantine), may be prescribed to manage cognitive symptoms.
Charles Bonnet syndrome
- complex, vivid visual hallucinations generally in individuals with significant vision loss.
- Commonly associated conditions include age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and cataract.
Signs and symptoms of Charles Bonnet syndrome
- well-formed, vivid, elaborate, and often stereotyped visual hallucinations in a partially sighted person.
- The imagery can be varied, including groups of people or children, animals, and panoramic countryside scenes.
Investigations of Charles Bonnet syndrome
- Clinical presentation and patient history.
- Neurological and ophthalmic examinations
- FBC, U+E
- CBS hallucinations may persist despite treatment of underlying eye conditions
What is the managment of CBS?
- education and reassurance
- optimise eye sight
- Medication can be used to ease symptoms rather than cure it.
Drugs used in managment of CBS
Atypical Antipsychotics:
* Risperidone (brand name Risperdal)
* Quetiapine (brand name Seroquel)
* Olanzapine (brand name Zyprexa)
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs):
* Sertraline (brand name Zoloft)
* Citalopram (brand name Celexa)
* Escitalopram (brand name Lexapro)
Antiepileptic Drugs:
* Gabapentin (brand names Neurontin, Gabapentin)
* Pregabalin (brand name Lyrica)
* Levetiracetam (brand name Keppra)
Constipation
infrequent bowel movements, hard stools, excessive straining, tenesmus and sometimes necessitating manual evacuation.
Rome IV criteria for
- Fewer than three bowel movements per week
- Hard stool in more than 25% of bowel movements
- Tenesmus in more than 25% of bowel movements
- Excessive straining in more than 25% of bowel movements
- A need for manual evacuation of bowel movements
Primary constipation
- no organic cause, thought to be due to dysregulation of the function of the colon or anorectal muscles
Secondaryconstipation
due to factors such as diet, medications, metabolic, endocrine or neurological disorders or obstruction
Risk factors of constipation
- Advanced age
- Inactivity
- Low calorie intake
- Low fibre diet
- Certain medications
- Female sex
2WW criteria for constipation
- Constipation (or diarrhoea) with weight loss
- 60 and over.
- Consider an urgent, direct access CT scan, or an urgent ultrasound scan if CT is not available, to rule out pancreatic cancer
Bedside investiagtions for Secondary constipation
- PR exam
- Stool culture – MC&S, ova,cysts,parasites
- FIT testing (if accompanied with new rectal bleeding and signs suggestive of colorectal cancer), faecal calprotectin
Constipation-what blood tests to do?
Full blood count (may show an anaemia), U+Es (including calcium), TFTs
Constipation imaging
- Abdominal x-ray if suspicious of a secondary cause of constipation such as obstruction (may reveal faecal loading)
- Barium enema if suspicious of impaction or rectal mass
- Colonoscopy if suspicious of lower GI malignancy
Managment of constipation
- lifestyle changes
- laxatives
1. Bulk forming laxative
2. osmotic laxative
3. stimulant laxative
4. stool softners
5. enemas
Acute confusional state
- Is a frequent condition, primarily observed among elderly individuals.
- It manifests through symptoms such as disorientation, hallucinations, inattention, memory problems, mood or personality changes, and disturbed sleep.
aka delirium
Pre-disposing factors for ACS
- age > 65 years
- background of dementia
- significant injury e.g. hip fracture
- frailty or multimorbidity
- polypharmacy
Multifactoral events which can lead to ACS
- infection: particularly urinary tract infections
- metabolic: e.g. hypercalcaemia, hypoglycaemia, hyperglycaemia, dehydration
- change of environment
- any significant cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological or endocrine condition
- severe pain
- alcohol withdrawal
- constipation
Features of ACS
- memory disturbances (loss of short term > long term)
- may be very agitated or withdrawn
- disorientation
- mood change
- visual hallucinations
- disturbed sleep cycle
- poor attention
ACS managment
- Treat the underlying cause
- Haloperidol 0.5 mg as the first-line sedative
- Parkinson patients may need to be weaned off medications
- if symptoms require urgent treatment then the atypical antipsychotics quetiapine and clozapine are preferred
Olazapine side effects
- weight gain
- increased appetite
- sedation
- dry mouth
- Ortostatic hypertension
- Extrapyrimidal symptoms
- constipation
- dry mouth
- elevated liver enzyme
- WCC change
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)
rogressive, complex condition, accounting for approximately 10-15% of dementia cases.
Featured of DLB
- Fluctuating cognition: Changes in attention and alertness may occur.
- Parkinsonism: Rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability are common.
- Visual hallucinations: Patients often experience complex and recurrent visual hallucinations.
- High sensitivity to neuroleptics: These drugs can induce or worsen parkinsonism.
LBD vs Dementia
if cognitive impairment and parkinsonism develop <1 year of each other, it is likely LBD.
DLB investigations
- Dopamine transporter (DaT) scan: This can help distinguish DLB from other types of dementia.
- Neuropsychological testing: To assess cognitive functioning and fluctuations.
- Electroencephalography (EEG): Although not diagnostic, a slowing background rhythm may be seen in DLB.
Managment of DLB
- Non-pharmacological interventions: These include cognitive stimulation, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.
- Supportive care: As DLB is a progressive disorder, palliative and end-of-life care considerations are essential.
- Medications: Cholinesterase inhibitors can help manage cognitive symptoms. However, caution is required with antipsychotic medications due to neuroleptic sensitivity.
Complications of DLB
- Rapid disease progression: Compared to other dementias, DLB may progress more rapidly.
- Severe neuroleptic sensitivity: This can lead to severe parkinsonism and potential neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a life-threatening neurological disorder.
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Trimethoprim and renal function
- lead to a transient rise in creatinine levels by reducing the creatinine excretion of the kidneys
- Does not reflect actual eGFR
- not reflective of AKI
Psychotic features (3)
- hallucinations (e.g. auditory)
- delusions
- thought disorganisation
- agitation/aggression
- neurocognitive impairment (e.g. in memory, attention or executive function)
- depression
- thoughts of self-harm
thought disorganisation
- alogia: little information conveyed by speech
- tangentiality: answers diverge from topic
- clanging
- word salad: linking real words incoherently → nonsensical content
conditions linked with psychosis
schizophrenia: the most common psychotic disorder
depression (psychotic depression, a subtype more common in elderly patients)
bipolar disorder
puerperal psychosis
brief psychotic disorder: where symptoms last less than a month
neurological conditions e.g. Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease
prescribed drugs e.g. corticosteroids
certain illicit drugs e.g. cannabis, phencyclidine
auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia
- two or more voices discussing the patient in the third person
- thought echo
- voices commenting on the patient’s behaviour
examples of thought disorders
- thought insertion
- thought withdrawal
- thought broadcasting
Passivity phenomena:
- bodily sensations being controlled by external influence
- actions/impulses/feelings - experiences which are imposed on the individual or influenced by others
Delusional perceptions
a two stage process) where first a normal object is perceived then secondly there is a sudden intense delusional insight into the objects meaning for the patient e.g. ‘The traffic light is green therefore I am the King’
features of scizophrenia
- impaired insight
- negative symptoms
incongruity/blunting of affect - anhedonia (inability to derive pleasure)
- alogia (poverty of speech)
- avolition (poor motivation)
- social withdrawal
- neologisms: made-up words
- catatonia
5 key principles of the MCA
- A person must be assumed to have capacity unless it is established that he lacks capacity
- A person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision unless all practicable steps to help him to do so have been taken without success
- A person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision merely because he makes an unwise decision
- An act done, or decision made, under this Act for or on behalf of a person who lacks capacity must be done, or made, in his best interests
- Before the act is done, or the decision is made, regard must be had to whether the purpose for which it is needed can be as effectively achieved in a way that is less restrictive of the person’s rights and freedom of action
Risk factors of BHP
- age
around 50% of 50-year-old men will have evidence of BPH and 30% will have symptoms
around 80% of 80-year-old - men have evidence of BPH
ethnicity: black > white > Asian
voiding symptoms (obstructive):
(BHP)
weak or intermittent urinary flow
straining
hesitancy
terminal dribbling
incomplete emptying