Year 2 - Week 1 - Dementia Flashcards
What is dementia?
Long-term, progressive condition - affecting sufferer’s cognitive skills & ability to perform everyday tasks.
Why do some GPs not diagnose dementia?
Not confident in their diagnosis
Reluctance to cause distress to P = lots of stigma attached to dementia
What can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s
Cholinesterase inhibitors
Name a test for dementia that GPs can perform
General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition (GPCOG)
Who is interviewed as part of the GPCOG test?
Patient & relative/friend
What indicates cognitive impairment on GPCOG test?
4 or > / 9 in P and
3/6 of less in relative
What is the mini-COG?
Ask P to remember 3 words - then draw clockface and add time - then recall the 3 words.
What is the longer & better test of cognitive function called?
Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (or the MoCA or ACE-III).
What is the disadvantage of MMSE?
Takes much longer to complete - as tests different subsections of cognition
What can you ask a P who you suspect has memory problems?
Have friends/family commented
Is her memory causing any problems?
How are things at home - still able to do everything, shopping, finances, social life?
Mood - any depression
Sleeping pattern
Appetite
What blood tests can you do for reversible causes of dementia?
Thyroid Function Tests (check for hypothyoidism)
B12 (check for deficiency)
U&Es (check for hyponatremia)
FBC
LFTs (looking for alcohol misuse)
HIV (if high risk)
FBC + B12 + Folate (pernicious anemia)
Bilirubin (if jaundice)
Calcium (if suspected hypercalcaemia)
Plasma glucose (diabetes)
What can dementia be confused/mistaken with?
Depression
Delirium
What is delirium?
An acute confusional state
How can you differentiate between delirium and dementia?
Delirium - comes on rapidly (hours),
What things can cause delirium?
Infection
Pain
Hypoxia
Electrolyte imbalance
Drugs
Withdrawal
Liver failure
Brain injury
Urinary retention
How can you test for UTI?
Midstream urine microscopy
How can you test for pneumonia?
Chest X-Ray
How can you test for PE?
D-Dimer
CT Pulmonary Angiogram
How do you test for hyponatremia?
Serum U&Es
How do you test for liver failure?
LFTs
What are the most common types of dementia?
AD or mixed aetiology (AD + vascular)
Lewy-body dementia
Vascular dementia
Which dementia accounts for 5% of cases?
Frontotemporal dementia
Name 2 rare causes of dementia
HIV
CJD
Why is it important to try and determine which dementia a P has?
Each has different natural history & each is treated differently
How does AD present?
Initial symptom of memory loss, followed by loss of insight and gradual functioning deterioriates.
What does AD look like on CT?
Atrophy & shrinkage of hippocampus + medial temporal structures
How does Vascular dementia present?
Often Ps have some CVD
Is stepwise deterioration (not gradual)
Loss of executive function predominates - can recall facts & personality preserved
How does vascular dementia appear on CT?
Lacunar infarcts, white matter ischaemia, leukoencephalopathy & cerebral small vessel disease
How does Lewy-Body dementia present?
Marked variability in mental state & alertness day by day
May have hallucinations
Have Parkinsons like symptoms - stiffness, slowness of mvement
Does CT show any changes in LBD?
No characteristic signs on CT
Which scan can be used in LBD?
SPECT scan
How does Frontotemporal dementia present?
Behavioural / personality changes are dominant dementia - dramatic changes
Earlier onset
What can CT show in Frontotemporal dementia?
Frontal & temporal atrophy