WEEK 3: Living with chronic neurological disease.

Question 1

Outline chronic neurological diseases.

Answer 1

dementia,
epilepsy,
headache disorders,
multiple sclerosis,
neuroinfectious,
neurological disorders associated with malnutrition,
pain associated with neurological disorders
Parkinson’s disease,
stroke and traumatic brain injuries.

Question 2

Dementia is currently the seventh leading cause of death among all diseases.

One of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people globally.

Dementia is an umbrella term.

Define dementia.

Outline the different types of dementia.

Answer 2

Dementia is a broad term used to describe a group of symptoms associated with a decline in cognitive function severe enough to interfere with daily life and independent functioning.

1. Alzheimer’s dementia
2. Vascular dementia
3. Lewy body dementia
4. Fronto-temporal dementia.
5. Parkinson’s disease
6. Mixed dementia.

Question 3

There are a few rare causes of dementia that may be treated effectively by timely medical or surgical intervention.

Outline them.

Answer 3

There are a few rare causes of dementia that may be treated effectively by timely medical or surgical intervention.

— these include hypercalcemia, subdural hematoma, normal pressure hydrocephalus, and deficiencies of thyroid hormone, vitamin B12 and folic acid.

Question 4

How does dementia present?

Answer 4

Dementia: Umbrella term for symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily life.

Dementia is one of the major causes of disability in later life.

WHO-International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) framework to describe function impairment and disability in relation to a health condition, such as in people living with dementia.

Question 5

Discuss International Classification of Functioning, Disability & Health (ICF).

Answer 5

The ICF is a framework for approaching patient care that shifts the conceptual emphasis away from negative connotations like disability and places emphasis on function and the positive abilities of the individual at the patient level rather than at the system level.