Dementia Flashcards
(36 cards)
Individuals with this sensory-related condition are frequently misdiagnosed as having dementia?
- Cataracts
- Sensorineural hearing loss
- Anosmia (loss of sense of smell)
- Loss of joint position sense
- Sensorineural hearing loss
______________ is the deterioration of cognition across multiple cognitive domains.
Dementia
Dementia usually consists of decline in two or more cognitive domains. What are the cognitive domains?
- Memory
- Executive function (planning, behavior modulation, etc.)
- Complex attention
- Language (both receptive and productive language)
- Perceptual motor (learned motor tasks and mental mapping)
- Social cognition
Dementias are often broadly categorized as _____________ or ____________.
Cortical or subcortical
What are the characteristics of cortical dementia?
- Early aphasia and calculation difficulties
- Minimal neurologic primary motor findings until very late
- Usually effect higher-level structures first.
What are two examples of cortical dementias?
- Alzheimer’s dementia
- Frontotemporal dementia
Which lobe of the brain processes most forms of memory?
- Frontal
- Parietal
- Temporal
- Occipital
- Temporal
What lobe primarily deals with vision?
Occipital
What lobe primarily deals with memory function?
Temporal
What lobe primarily deals with personality and planning?
Frontal
What lobe primarily deals with spatial orientation, math, and calculation abilities?
Parietal
What lobes are effected in Alzheimer’s disease and what are the deficits that usually occur?
- Lobe:
- Temporal
- Parietal lobes
- Deficits:
- Memory
- Language,
- Visuospatial ability
What are the abnormalities on the following MRI image? What disease does the patient most likely have?
- Increased ventricular size is outlined in red.
- Widening of sulci is outlined in blue.
These findings are common in Alzheimer’s disease patients.
What is the PET scan finding representative of Alzheimer’s dementia?
- Bilateral temporal lobe hypometabolism
- Bilateral frontal lobe hypometabolism
- One or two small areas of hypometabolism
- Unilateral parietal lobe hypometabolism
- Bilateral temporal lobe hypometabolism
The most common frontotemporal dementia is _______________.
Pick’s disease
How do patients with frontotemporal dementia usually presnet? What type of histological findings are seen upon autopsy?
- Personality changes and disinhibition initially, as opposed to appearing later in the course of the disease which is common for the other dementia
- These dementias typically show tau inclusions upon autopsy
What type of dementias are characterized by deficits in the basal ganglia, causing early motor and speech difficulties?
Subcortical
What are four examples of subcortical dementias?
- Huntington’s disease
- Wilson’s disease
- Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
- Limbic encephalopathy: Paraneoplastic
What subcortical dementia is commonly associated with Parkinson’s disease?
Lewy Body dementia (about 25% of dementia cases)
What lobes are commonly affected in Lewy Body dementia and what are the deficits seen?
- Lobes:
- Parietal
- Temporal
- Also subcortical brainstem lesions (protein aggregates the develop inside neurons)
- Deficits:
- Early losses in memory and language
- Visual hallucinations (most commonly of little men or people)
- Extrapyramidal symptoms
_______________ is the second most common type of dementia and is often confused with Alzheimer’s.
Vascular dementia
What are the characteristics of Vascular Dementia?
- Rapid, stepwise declines in cognition and function
- Often associated with focal neurologic deficits
- Imaging findings often include old infarcts, lacunae, diffuse white matter changes, and subdural hematomas
(T/F) Vascular dementia losses are irreversible, but treating vascular risk factors can slow progression.
True.
Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) may also be a cause of dementia. What is the classic triad of symptoms for NPH?
- Dementia
- Incontinence
- Gait apraxia (magnetic gait)
NPH = DIG
