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Flashcards in Memory Disorders Deck (9)
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1
Q

What is memory?

A

A higher cortical function
Of acquisition and retrieval
Of stimuli

Acquisition

Recognition, registering and cataloguing of a stimulus(verbal, visual, episodic, semantic)

Retrieval

Appropriate recall

2
Q

What are the types of memory disorders?

A

Amnesic syndromes
Senescence
Dementia

3
Q

What is dementia?

A

Diffuse cerebral disease syndrome

Loss of higher cortical function

Memory impairment

Plus at least one more cognitive domain

  • aphasia
  • apraxia
  • agnosia
  • executive

Declining functional level of ADLs, social

4
Q

What is the classification of dementias?

A

Primary
Potentially reversible

Primary

  • AD 60%
  • Vascular dementia 20%
  • dementia with Lewy bodies 10%
  • frontotemporal lobar degeneration 5%

Potentially reversible

  • Chronic SDH
  • Prion disease CJD, HIV, syphillis
  • frontal tumor
  • Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, NPH
  • Vasculitis, MS
  • head injury
  • hepatic encephalopathy, hypothyroidism, hypoglycemia
  • vitamin B12 deficiency
5
Q

What are the investigations for dementia?

A

NON INVASIVE

  • CT MRI
  • Neuropsychometry
  • EEG
  • genetics

INVASIVE

  • Thyroid profile
  • VDRL
  • HIV
  • ESR CRP
  • B12 Folate
  • brain biopsy
6
Q

What is Alzheimer’s disease?

A

Most common Degenerative brain disease

Most common cause of dementia

Affect elderly >65

Females > males

Familial cases are less common

More common in Down’s syndrome

7
Q

What is the pathology of AD?

A

Generalized cortical atrophy

Especially hippocampus, temporal lobe, parietal lobe

Mutation of amyloid precursor protein gene on chromosome 21

Cortical amyloid A4 deposits

Extra cellular Neuritic plaques

Intercellular Neurofibrillary tangles

8
Q

What are the features of normal pressure hydrocephalus?

A

Triad of

  • dementia
  • gait disturbance
  • urinary incontinence

Occurring in conjunction with hydrocephalus and normal CSF pressure

9
Q

What are the Clin features of AD?

A
EARLY
Insidious slowly progressive episodic memory loss
Deficit of new learning
Visuo-spatial disorientation 
Executive Functional loss

LATE
Behavior and thinking deficits
Complete loss of short term episodic memory
Semantic memory lost
Dysphasia- Language dysfunction
Apraxia- unable complex multi-step motor activity
Dependent

TERMINAL
Fully dependent
No memory
Myoclonus
Seizures
Extrapyramidal signs
Death