Week 236 - Alzheimers Flashcards
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What is the ICD10 diagnostic criteria for dementia?
• Acquired impairment in memory for at least 6 months plus impairment in one of the following cognitive domains-
- Executive functioning
- Language
- Praxis (learned motor tasks)
- Gnosis (ability to recognize objects, faces)
These impairments must be severe enough to interfere with work, social activities and relationships.
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What is mild cognitive impairment?
Cognitive decline that is greater than we would expect for age but which does not notably interfere with activities of daily living.
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What are the risk factors for developing alzheimers?
- Age
- Female
- Genetics
- Head injury
- Environmental (eg. oxidative stress)
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What are the risk factors for developing vascular dementia?
- Smoking
- Diabetes
- High cholesterol
- Hypertension
- Male
Week 236 - Alzheimers: How are Parkinson’s dementia and Lewy body dementia related and how do they differ?
• Parkinsons dementia
- Prominent motor features and motor symptoms predate dementia by at least 6 months.
• Lewy body dementia
- Parkinsonia motor features are mild and onset of memory and motor features are more closely related in time.
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What is the presentation of vascular dementia?
- Sudden onset
- Stepwise progression
- Mood/behaviour change
- Insight preserved
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What is the presentation of Lewy body dementia?
- Fluctuating cognition
- Vivid visual hallucinations
- Mild parkinsonian features
- Repeated falls
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What is Pick’s disease?
• A type of fronto-temporal dementia
Week 236 - Alzheimers: How does fronto-temporal dementia present?
- Apathy, reduced motivation, self neglect.
- Disinhibited, decreased social awareness, lack of judgement.
- Change in personality
- Memory loss is variable
- Language difficulties are prominent
Week 236 - Alzheimers: How can depression be misinterpreted as dementia?
- They may get psychotic features.
* Impaired attention and concentration may lead to subjective complaints of memory loss.
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What are some of the causes of secondary dementia?
- HIV, CJD
- Inflammatory - SLE,MS
- Renal failure - Vit def.
- Hypothyroidism
- Alcohol
- Traumatic eg SDH
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What is Korsakoff’s dementia?
• A secondary cause of dementia that is related to a history of alcohol dependence.
• Caused by Vitamin B1 deficiency (thiamine)
• Follows acute Wernicke’s encephalopathy.
- Ataxia, opthalmoplegia, nystagmus, confusion.
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What are the genetics underlying the early onset of Alzheimers (
- Presenilin gene 2 (chromosome 1)
- Presenilin gene 1 (chromosome 14)
- Beta amyloid precursor protein gene (chromosome 21)
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What are the genetics underlying late onset alzheimers? (>65yrs)
• Apolopoprotein E gene (chromosome 19)
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What is the medical treatment in alzheimers and Lewy body dementia?
- Mild-moderate dementia consider anti-cholinesterase.
* Moderate-advance dementia consider memantine.
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What is the medical management for vascular dementia?
Treatment of cardiovascular risks.
- Low dose aspirin, statin, management of BP, blood glucose.
- Lifestyle advice re smoking, low fat diet.
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What drugs are anti-cholinesterase’s? What are they used to treat?
- Mild-moderate dementia. (Due to alzheimers or Lewy body)
- Aricept - Donepezil
- Exelon - Rivastigmine
- Reminyl - Galantamine
Week 236 - Alzheimers: Memantine is used in the treatment of moderate-severe dementia caused by alzheimers or Lewy bodies. What is it and what is its mechanism of action?
- NMDA antagonist.
- Blocks NMDA receptors and so blocks the effects of pathologically elevated levels of glutamate that may lead to neuronal dysfunction.
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What are some of the behavioural and psychiatric features of dementia?
- Agitation and agression.
- Restlessness and wandering.
- Depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance.
- Delusions/hallucinations.
- Disinhibition.
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What are the key for points for understanding whether someone has capacity?
Can the person-
• Understand information relevant to the decision.
• Retain that information.
• Use/weigh that info when making a decision.
• Communicate decision.
Week 236 - Alzheimers: What are the driving rules with dementia?
- Patient must notify DVLA
- Doctor may advise against driving
- DVLA 12 month license may renew
- On road test
- Patient must inform insurance company