Modterms_Alzeimer’s disease Flashcards
It is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually even the ability to carry out the simplest tasks.
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
is the most common form of dementia.It was first described by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer in 1906.
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Etiology
Genetic = inheritance of the ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE ε4)
- Cholinergic hypothesis = by reduced synthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine
- Amyloid hypothesis = that extracellular beta-amyloid (Aβ) deposits are the fundamental cause of the disease
TEN WARNING SIGNS
- Memory loss
- Difficulty performing familiar tasks
- Problems with language
- Disorientation to time and place
- Poor or decreased judgment
- Problems with abstract thinking
- Misplacing things
- Changes in mood or behaviour
- Changes in personality
- Loss of initiative
S/sx
Pre-dementia
- -
recent memory loss, increased irritability, - impaired judgment,
- loss of interest in life,
- decline of problem-solving ability, and
- reduction in abstract thinking.
- Remote memory and neurological exam
- remain unchanged from baseline.
Early S/Sx
lasts for 2 to 4 years
- decline in the patient’s ability to manage
personal and business affairs,
- inability to remember shapes of objects,
- continued repetition of a meaningless
word or phrase (perseveration),
- wandering or circular speech patterns
(circumlocution dysphasia),
- wandering at night,
- restlessness, depression, anxiety, and
intensification of cognitive and emotional
changes
MODERATE S/Sx
impaired ability to speak (aphasia),
- inability to recognize familiar objects
(agnosia),
- inability to use objects properly
(apraxia),
- inattention, distractibility,
- involuntary emotional outbursts,
- urinary or fecal incontinence,
- lint-picking motion, and
- chewing movements.
ADVANCED S/Sx
- mask like facial expression,
- no communication,
- apathy, withdrawal,
- eventual immobility,
- assumed fetal position,
- no appetite, and emaciation.
TREATMENTS- Meds
Maintain Mental Function with drugs that regulate neurotransmitters
- Donepezil (Aricept®),
- rivastigmine (Exelon®),
- galantamine (Razadyne®)
- Memantine (Namenda®)
Nursing Diagnosis
Self-care deficit related to impaired cognitive and motor function.
B. Risk for Injury related to:
- Inability to recognize / identify hazards
in the environment.
- Disorientation, confusion, impaired
decision making.
- Weakness,
- muscles that are not coordinated,
- presence of seizure activity.
C. Disturbed Thought Process
D. Chronic Confusion
E. Impaired Verbal Communication