Mental Status of Elderly Flashcards
What is mental status?
Encompasses mood and cognitive function
What are the 4 components of cognitive testing?
1) Orientation
2) Memory
3) Three- stage command
4) Judgement
What is delirium?
A syndrome characterized by a sudden impairment of cognitive function.
What is dementia?
A term that includes brain disorders in which there is gradual
irreversible decline in cognitive function.
What is Alzheimer’s disease?
Most common type of dementia.
It is characterized by the presence of neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the cortex.
What is vascular dementia?
rapidly progressing dementia caused by small cerebral infarctions that result in localized or diffuse damage to the brain.
Risk factors associated with vascular dementia
smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, inactivity, and a history of stroke or cardiovascular disease.
What is Frontotemporal dementia?
characterized by neuronal atrophy affecting the frontal lobes of the brain.
What skills are impaired with frontotemporal dementia?
Abstract thinking, speech and language skills
What is Lewbody dementia?
involves subcortical pathology and the presence of Lewy body substances in the cerebral cortex. Fluctuations in mental status are common.
Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease
an extremely rare dementia that is believed to originate from a slow virus.
Treatment for Depression
Antidepressant therapy
Electroconvulsant therapy (ECT)
Exercise
Psychosocial interventions
Electroconvulsant therapy (ECT):
This is used primarily for severe depressions, when antidepressant medications are ineffective. ECT is contraindicated for persons with serious cardiac disease and increased intracranial pressure.
Analgesics that may cause depression
codeine, indomethacin, meperidine, propoxphene
Antihypertensives and cardiovascular agents that may cause depression
clonidine, digitalis, hydralazine, methyldopa, reserpine