Neuromuscular conditions of ageing Flashcards
what is a neuromuscular ageing condition
happen due to damage to some part of the brain or nervous system
functioning slows down
what age do u start to become more at risk of neuromuscular condition
People >50
What occurs in the CNS as you age (4)
- Loss of neural circuits + brain plasticity (affects communication bw centres)
- Thinning of cortical gray matter (especially prefrontal cortex/hippo)
- Neuronal morphology (tangles, plaques)
- Brain ventricles (increase in size)
What occurs in the PNS due to aging (4)
- slowing of neuronal transmission speed
- decline in # and density of myelinated fibres w ageing (worse coordination)
- Decreased sensory discrimination (touch etc)
- Autonomic nerve dysfunction
Loss of myelin around nerve slows transaction by what %
slows conduction of the nerve by around 5-10%
What is the leading cause of impairment in older adults
Msk disease
What is sarcopenia
- Loss of lean body mass (decrease in number and size of mm fibres)
- reduction of 40-60% of number of functioning mm units
increases morbidity/mortality
what is dynapenia
loss of mm strength
result of mm property changes
What contributes to dynapenia
mm weakness/ dysfunction
- fewwer functioning mm units
- deficit in voluntary activation
- re modelling of nmj
Parkinsons disease and cause
Disorder of CNS affecting mvmt and often causing tremor
-nerve cell damage in brain causes dopamine levels to drop leading to s/s
Idiopathic (cause unknown)
typical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease
stooped posture masked face back righty flexed elbows and wrists forward tilt of trunk tremors (resting)
Parkinsons disease screening and general qs
used to determine whether a pt should speak to their doctor or a mvmt disorder specialist about Parkinson’s
eg
-have u been getting slower in ur usual activities
-is your handwriting smaller
-is your speech slurred/softer
-do your lip/hand shake etc
does Parkinson’s shorten persons life span
no
what should be done in tx w parkinsions
walking/gait
balance training
rom
retraining over exaggerated physical mints (slow down hypokinesia)
What is grilling barre syndrome and main symptoms
rare disorder where body immune system attacks nerves (triggers by inf)
-peripheral neuropathy that causes acute neuromuscular failure, weakness/tingling in extremities
