Dementia Flashcards Preview

Neurology > Dementia > Flashcards

Flashcards in Dementia Deck (19)
Loading flashcards...
1
Q

What is dementia?

A

A severe, acquired progressive cognitive decline which affects more than one brain region

2
Q

How might problems with memory manifest in a patient with dementia?

A

Repetitive questions or conversations
Misplacing personal belonings
Forgetting events or appointments
Getting lost on a familiar route

3
Q

How might problems with executive function manifest in a patient with dementia?

A

Poor understanding of safety risks
Inability to manage finances
Poor decision making abilities
Inability to plan complex or sequential activities

4
Q

How might problems with visuospatial function manifest in a patient with dementia?

A

Inability to recognise faces or common objects
Inability to find objects in direct view despite good acuity
Inability to operate simple. implements
Inability to orient clothing to the body

5
Q

How might problems with language manifest in a patient with dementia?

A

Difficulty thinking of common words whilst speaking
Other speech difficulties
Spelling errors
Writing / grammar errors

6
Q

What tests can be conducted at the bedside to assess the patient’s. mental state in suspected dementia?

A

Holstein MMSSE

Addenobrrokes

7
Q

How are attention/concentration assessed in the addenbrookes test?

A

Orientation

Serial 7s

8
Q

What pathological process can effect episodic memory?

A

Alzheimer’s disease

Limbic encephalitis

9
Q

Which region of the brain is affected first by Alzheimer’s disease?

A

Temporal lobe

10
Q

Describe the progression of loss of Brian function which is typically seen in Alzheimers

A

Episodic memory dysfunction then visuospatial dysfunction then language dysfunction

11
Q

What results will be seen in the addenbrookes tests for patients with semantic dementia?

A

Reduction in verbal fluency

Impairment of irregular words

12
Q

How is executive function tested in the addenbrookes test?

A

Proverbs
Verbal fluency
Estimates
Planning activities

13
Q

How can visuospatial function be assessed in the addenbrooke’s test?

A

Ask patient to draw interlocking pentagons, cubes, 3D letters and to count dots

14
Q

How is language function assessed in the addenbrookes test?

A

Naming
Repetition
3 stage command
Reading

15
Q

Describe semantic aphasia

A
Poor confrontation naming
Impaired single word compregension
Poor object/person recognition
Surface dyslexia
Repetition is spared
16
Q

Describe logopenic aphasia

A

Impaired single word retrieval
Impaired repetition
Speech sound errors
Spared object/person recognition and single word recognition

17
Q

What pathology can cause logopenic aphasia?

A

Alzheimer’s disease

18
Q

Describe non-fluent aphasia

A

Effortful, halting speech with phonemic error

Spared object/person/single word recognition

19
Q

What are the cut-off scores for dementia in the Addenbrookes test?

A

<88 dementia unlike
>83 supports diagnosis of dementia
In patients with score 83-88 the diagnosis can be uncertain