MRCPsych Paper B - Old Age Flashcards
Atypical antipsychotics increases risk of vascular events by a factor of how much?
2
MAPT gene is located in which chromosome?
ch17
APP gene is located in which chromosome?
ch21q
Geriatric bipolar disorder targe serum lithium level
0.4-0.7 mmol/L
*usually 0.40-0.60mmol/L, can increase to maximally 0.70 or 0.80 at 65-79yrs and to maximally 0.70mmol/L over 80yrs
10yr probability of conversion from MCI to dementia
30-40%
Risk of developing TD in the elderly vs younger adults (how much more)
5-6x
Most common symptom of late paraphrenia/ late onset schizophrenia
persecutory delusions, 90%
*auditory hallucinations, 75%
Prevalence of psychotic symptoms among older individuals with major neurocognitive disorder (AD)
40%
Apolipoprotein allele that is protective? that is a risk factor?
APOE E2 - protective, APOE E4 - susceptible
Measure for ADL function in the elderly
Barthel Index
Most likely neurological findings in vascular dementia
Focal neurological findings - unilateral brisk DTR, asymmetrical hyperreflexia or weakness
Most common cause of death in AD
pneumonia
instrument for the ddx of dementia
Cambridge examination for mental disorders of the elderly (CAMDEX-R)
CASE: Geria px + cognitive difficulties + slurring of consonants + staccato pattern
Cerebellar degeneration
NIA-AA criteria for probable dementia
criteria for dementia + insidious onset, worsening condition, cognitive deficits (amnestic presentation -most common or non-amnestic presentation -language, visuospatial, or executive), no evidence of substantial CVD
PDs usually seen in late life
HD SOAP
histrionic, dependent, schizoid, OC, avoidant, paranoid
Cortical dementias
AD, FTD/ Pick disease
Cortico-subcortical
LCC
LB, CJD, corticobasal degeneration
EEG findings in CJD
periodic complexes - bi- or triphasic against slow voltage background
Delirium scale with good symptom coverage and distinguishes it from from other disorders (dementia, depression, and schizoprenia)
Delirium rating scale (DRS)
Neurobehavioral syndrome: squalor (dirty and unpleasant), pathological hoarding, lack of insight, no desire for help
Diogenes syndrome
*greek philosopher living in a barrel
Assessment of dementia for people with LD
Dementia questionnaire for People with LD (DLD)
Cardinal manifestations of progressive supranuclear palsy
Postural instability and falls (backward)
Variant CJD is characterized by early…
anxiety and depressive symptoms,
*early 20s, … then personality changes, then progressive dementia. Ataxia, myocolonus. Death in 1-2yrs
A feature seen commonly in early onset depression when compared with late onset depression
episodic memory dysfunction (temporal lobe dysfunction)
* vs late onset depression: deficits in attention and executive function (frontal lobe dysfunction)
Signs it is pathological grief
intense guilt related to issues beyond those surrounding the death of the loved one, preoccupation with death (excluding being with the deceased), morbid preoccupation with worthlessness, marked psychomotor retardation, prolonged severe functional impairment, hallucinations (excluding transient voice of the deceased)
First choice medication for elderly with delirium (in a surgical ward)
haloperidol
Huntington’s disease
autosomal dominance, CAG trinucleotide repeats, HTT gene, ch4p, onset 30-40s
Most common psychological and behavioral symptom in Huntington’s disease
apathy/ reduction in drive
Deficits on tests of attention and visuospatial ability maybe especially prominent in…
LBD
Psych drug that can aggravate psoriasis and acne
Lithium
Most common psychiatric side effects of rivastigmine
anorexia, dizziness, nausea, vomiting
Most common psychiatric side effect of levodopa
nightmares & vivid dreams 30%, night terrors 7%, delirium 5%, delusional disorder 3%
Most prevalent personality disorder in the elderly
OC
Most effective antipsychotic for psychosis/ agitation/ BPSD in dementia
risperidone
Most effective antipsychotic for agitation in dementia
olanzapine
Most effective antipsychotic for overall BPSD in dementia
aripiprazole
Most prevalent anxiety disorder among the elderly
Specific phobia (esp. fear of falling - basophobia)
Compared to early onset depression, late onset depression in the elderly ten to present more often with symptoms of…
psychomotor changes (30%)
antipsychotic treatment for Parkinsons with psychosis unrelated to levodopa
Quetiapine
*clozapine is efficacious but limited by agranulocytosis; pimavanserin - another option, atypical antipsychotic
Biological changes associated with normal ageing
decrease brain weight (17%), reduced cortical gray matter, ventricular enlargement, increased transport across BBB, decreased cerebral flow
Pharmacokinetic changes in ageing
decreased gut motility, decreased gastric acid secretion, 35%-50% decline in renal function, serum creatinine is not 100% reliable
elderly have more body fat, less water, and less albumin, increased vol of distribution and longer duration of action for fat-soluble drugs, decreased liver size, more prone to accumulation due to declining kidney function, eGFR used as measure for renal function
Antipsychotic with great risk of severe postural hypotension for the elderly
risperidone, clozapine
*alternatives to treatment: amisulpride, sulpride, aripiprazole, haloperidol
Anti-dementia drug that demonstrated benefits in treating hallucinations in LBD
rivastigmine
*newer data finds donepezil is effective as well in LBD
Knife-edge atrophy is found where?
behavioral FTD variant, frontal lobes
test of executive function in an elderly with schizophrenia
Tower of London/ Hanoi
Gingko biloba increases the risk of …
bleeding
rate of VH in LBD
80%
test to measure the likelihood of vascular dementia pathology
Hachinski ischaemic score (HIS), 4/12 cut off indicative of vascular dementia