351 Cognitive Disorders

  1. What are key signs for depression in the elderly?
    • -Common in older adults
    • -High Suicide rates
    • -Hallmark sign of somatic complaints and feelings of worthlessness and loneliness
    • -ECT works well in this population
    • -Suspciousness and delusions
  2. What are basics of cognitive disorders?
    • -NOT part of aging
    • -Fundamental abilities of memory and learning are lost
    • -Disorientation, confusion, loss of abstract thinking and inability to complete ADLs
  3. What are the nondementia cognitive disorders?
    • -Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): not interferring with functioning ability
    • -Delirium
    • -Pseudodementia
  4. What is the most prevalent type of dementia?
    -Alzheimer's disease
  5. What is delirium?
    • -Rapid onset
    • -Immediate medical intervention
    • -Most often caused by general medical condition
    • -Fluctuating level of consciousness, illusions
    • -Must treat the underlying problem
  6. What are key signs of dementia?
    • -Pronounced memory and cognitive disturbances
    • -Gradual onset
    • -Must rule out all phsycial disorders prior to a diagnosis of dementia
  7. What is Alzheimer's?
    • -Incapable of retrieving the past and unable to contemplate the future
    • -Usually (not always) has tangles and plaques
  8. What are key points to know about Alzheimer's?
    • -Decreased ACh
    • -Hippocampus and amygdala are signifcantly affected
    • -Brain atrophy
  9. What are common signs of mild Alzheimer's?
    -Mild: Word and name finding difficulties, getting lost, and difficulty performing usual activites
  10. What are common signs of Moderate Alzheimer's?
    Moderate: Wandering, Apraxia, agnoisa, aphasia, assistance needed with ADLs
  11. What are common signs of severe Alzheimer's?
    • -Gait disturbances
    • -Unable to feed self
    • -Double incontinence
    • -Bed bound, death is coming
    • -Total memory loss
  12. What is apraxia?
    -inability to perform taks even with understanding and ability to move
  13. What is agnosia?
    The loss of ability to recognize familiar objects
  14. What is aphasia?
    -impairment of language ability
  15. What are nursing interventions?
    • -Focus on present
    • -Provide structure, change can cause distress
    • -Take to bathroom on regular schedule
    • -Develop strategies for wandering
    • -Encourage the use of memory aids
    • -Offer small foods
  16. How do antidementia drugs work?
    • -Inhibit cholinesterase
    • -approved for mild to moderate AD
    • -Used to treat AD, not prevent the disease or slow its progression
    • -May help maintain cognitive function
    • -GI most common
  17. How does Memantine (Namenda) work?
    • -Approved for moderate to severe AD
    • -Can slow or prevent neuronal degeneration
    • -Blocks NDMA receptors
    • -Co prescribed with Donepezil (Aricept)
    • -Few side effects or drug interactions
  18. What are the differences between dementia and depression?
    • -Dementia: Affecct shallow, personality change, confabulation, no fluctuation, prgressive over months or years, primary
    • Depression: personality unchanged, doesnt care or know, acute, secondary to clinical disorders
Author
capinto
ID
117701
Card Set
351 Cognitive Disorders
Description
351 Cognitive Disorders
Updated