Alzheimers - Clinical

Question 1

What is dementia?

Answer 1

Impairment in memory,language, visual processing, mood/personality, frontal executive function causing an inability to function independently

Question 2

Where is dementia most prevalent

Answer 2

Low/middle income countries

Question 3

What are the strongest risks associated with AD?

Answer 3

Age and Iliteracy

Question 4

Most common causes of Degenerative dementias?

Answer 4

Alzheimers disease (55-70%)
Vascular dementia (15-25%)
Other dementias (lewy body, parkinsons, frontotemporal lobar) (10-30%)

Question 5

Does AD Double, Triple or Quadruple after age 65 years?

Answer 5

Double

Question 6

How is AD diagnosed?

Answer 6

Diagnoses of exclusion (no evidence of CVD, HIV, PD, HD, NPH)

Question 7

How is Early onset alzheimers disease described?

Answer 7

Below the age of 65 years wiuh relatively rapid onset and progression. Agraphia, alexia, acalculia or apraxia (presence of temporal, parietal and frontal lobe involvement)

Question 8

What features describe the terminal stages of AD?

Answer 8

Limited Vocab
Absence of Smiling
Inability to walk/sit up independently
Difficulty eating or swallowing
Bowel/Urinary incontinence
Recurrent respiratory/urinary infections

Question 9

What is the MMSE?

Answer 9

First stop cognitive function test standing for Mini-Mental State Examination. Measures general cognitive status including short term memory

Question 10

What is an ideal imaging technique to view AD related atrophy in the brain?

Answer 10

T1 weighted MRI imaging to show a greater contrast between grey matter and white matter

Question 11

What hallmarks in AD could be used for diagnoses whilst the patient is alive?

Answer 11

Look for grey matter changes (atrophy) and vesicle enlargement(due to infiltration of CSF)