Alzheimer's Flashcards
What is Alzheimer’s condition?
- Dementia characterised by forgetfulness, difficulty finding words and other cognitive impairments
- Several types of dementia: such as alzheimers
- Two types of AD: early onset (before age 65) and late onset (after age 65)
What are notable symptoms in the early stage of AD?
- Learning become difficult as short-term memory is affected, long term memory deteriorates
- Difficulties in language (paraphasia and forgetting words)
- Visuospatial skills decline, person becomes lost in familiar environment and putting items in wrong place
- Difficulty with executive functions, causing problems with planning, organising, sequencing, abstracting
What are notable symptoms in the middle stage of AD?
- STM and LTM worsen
- Person loses ability to speak fluently
- Person becomes disorientated in time and place, have difficulty with organising thoughts and thinking logically
- Visuospatial skills decline, resulting in person losing ability to judge depth and distance
- Wandering, agitation, loss of impulse control, loss of inhibition
- Psychiatric symptoms: depression, anxiety, hallucinations, loss of control over emotions resulting in outbursts of fear/anger worse
What are notable symptoms in the late stage of AD?
- Not be able to create new memories
- Speech limited to a couple of words
- Persons motor skills continue to decline, resulting in loss of postural control and person bed ridden
- 60% of time sleeping
- Complications such as seizures, contractures, pressure ulcers, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, incontinence
What are risk factors of AD?
- Inherited; 3 genes associated, mutated chromosomes
- Down syndrome
- Female
- Older age
- Low educational level
- Head trauma history; loss of consciousness
- History of depression
- Environmental/occupational exposure
- Cardiovascular disease
- Prolonged physical inactivity
How can one be diagnosed with AD?
1) Person needs multiple cognitive deficits (memory impairment etc)
2) Cause significant impairment in social or occupational functioning
3) Course of disease characterised by gradual onset/continuing cognitive decline
What is the impact of early stage AD on their Occupational Performance ?
ADLs:
-No difficulties
IADLs:
-Community mobility/driving impacted due to difficulty with orientation, become disorientated when driving; Person’s ability to drive safely may also be affected by poor coordination, difficulty with judging distances and multitasking; Memory loss, difficulty processing information, making decisions
-Meal preparation difficult from memory loss, forget to prepare a meal
-Health management, forget to take medication
What is the impact of middle stage AD on their Occupational Performance ?
ADLs:
-Difficulty with showering, dressing, grooming due to forgetting steps in occupation
-Difficulty with problem solving, decision making, misplacing items
-Forget to clean certain body areas, affecting hygiene
-Judging depth and distance, risk of falling
IADLs:
-Become dependent on others to help with community mobility, financial management, shopping
-Forget to process buying items, specific items needed, how to handle money, difficulty communicating impacts interactions
What is the role of an OT for managing AD?
- Maximise their quality of life, engagement in meaningful occupations, promote safety
- Work with client and family at different stages
- Implement compensatory strategies (establish daily routines, increasing visual/verbal/tactile cues, assistive devices)
- Make environment safe to reduce confusion, prevent falls, provide calming/familiar environment
What is the role of other health professionals with managing AD?
- Physiotherapist: maximise mobility
- Social workers: arrange services, assist placing individuals in care
- Speech pathologist: provide strategies, to improve communication and eating
