Medical Aspects of Disability
DEMENTIA
 DEFINITION:
 Group of symptoms that can be caused by over 6070 disorders.
 Syndrome which refers to progressive decline in
intellectual functioning severe enough to interfere
with person’s normal daily activities and social
relationships. (National Institute on Aging-1995 No. 953782)
Dementia
 Marked by progressive declines in
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memory.
visual-spatial relationships
performance of routine tasks
language and communication skills
abstract thinking
ability to learn and carry out mathematical calculations.
Dementia
 Two Types:
 Reversible
 Irreversible
 Individuals must have intensive medical physical to
rule out reversible types of dementia.
Delirium vs. Dementia
 Delirium defined--- characterized by a
disturbance of consciousness and a change in
cognition that develop over a short period of
time
 About 10-15% of surgical patients experience
delirium, and 15-25% of medicine inpatients
will experience delirium
 30% Surgical Intensive Care Unit patients
develop delirium, and up to 30% of AIDS
patients while inpatient, will develop delirium
Delirium vs. Dementia
 A major risk factor is advanced age
 Other factors include very young people (children),
organic brain damage including stroke, MVA, etc,
substance use, previous delirium, malnutrition, sensory
deprivation (hearing or visual loss), diabetes, cancer
 Having an episode of delirium is more than just
inconvenience
 3 month mortality following an episode of delirium is
25-30%. 1 year mortality after an episode of delirium
may be as high as 50%.
Delirium vs. Dementia
 Many causes of delirium:
 Some examples… epilepsy, CNS trauma, CNS infection,
CNS neoplasm, endocrine dysfunction (pituitary,
thyroid, adrenal, parathyroid, pancreas), liver failure,
UTI, cardiac dysrhythmias, hypotension, vitamin
deficiency, sepsis, electrolyte imbalance, iatrogenic- any
medication, substance withdrawal
Delirium vs. Dementia
 Could be psychiatric disorder, i.e. major
depression or generalized anxiety disorder, in
which case need to initiate treatment for this
disorder, i.e. get a psych consult
 Or is the cause a delirium from other meds or
an infection, in which case should look at labs
and med list.
 Or is cause alcohol withdrawal, in which case
need to treat w/d with benzodiazepines
 If patient is having chronic trouble sleeping, a
good choice to help them is Ambien/zolpidem
or Sonata/zaleplon
Delirium vs. Dementia
 Watch for alcohol withdrawal as cause of delirium. If
elevated pulse and blood pressure, see elevated MCV,
and patient begins to act bizarre, talk to family if at all
possible, about substance use. If patient enters
delirium tremens (DT’s), untreated has a mortality
rate of 20%.
Delirium vs. Dementia
 How is delirium treated?
 First line treatment for delirium is to treat underlying
cause. Often will need many labs- Complete Metabolic
Panel, Complete Blood Count, TFT, EEG if indicated,
CT/MRI of head, sometimes LP, etc.
 A psychiatric or psychological consult might be needed
for agitation.
 Meds- Haldol 2.5-5 mg (less for geriatric) or now,
Geodon 10-20 mg IM or Ativan IM
Delirium vs. Dementia
 A common problem in the US
 5% of those over 65 have severe dementia, 15% have
mild dementia
 20% those over 80 have severe dementia
 One of first distinctions you must make is reversible
from nonreversible.
 Only about 10-15% are reversible
Delirium vs. Dementia
 Nonreversible does not mean non treatable!
 Non reversible dementias Alzheimer’s is most common by far, accounting for
about 70% of dementias.
 See a tempero-parietal wasting at first, leading you
to see the memory loss and speech problems first.
The “lost keys”sign.
 Then will progress to global atrophy of brain.
 Genetics a risk factor (up to 35-40% patients have a
family history of Alzheimer’s
Dementia
 Reversible:
 D=
Drugs, Delirium
 E=
Emotions (such as depression) and
Endocrine Disorders
 M=
Metabolic Disturbances
 E=
Eye and Ear Impairments
 N=
Nutritional Disorders
 T=
Tumors, Toxicity, Trauma to Head
 I=
Infectious Disorders
 A=
Alcohol, Arteriosclerosis
Dementia
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Irreversible:
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Alzheimer’s
Lewy Body Dementia
Pick’s Disease (Frontotemperal Dementia)
Parkinson’s
Heady Injury
Huntington’s Disease
Jacob-Cruzefeldt Disease
Dementia
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Irreversible:
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Alzheimer's most common type of irreversible
dementia
Multi-Infarct dementia second most common type of
irreversible dementia
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Death of cerebral cells
Blockages of larger cerebral vessels, arteries
More abrupt in onset
Associated with previous strokes, hypertension
Can be traced through diagnostic procedures
Dementia
 Lewy Body Dementia
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Episodic confusion with intervals of lucidity with at least
one of the following:
1. Visual or auditory hallucinations
2. Mild extrapyramidal symptoms (muscle rigidity, slow
movements
3. Repeated unexplained falls
Progresses to severe dementia—found at autopsy.
Dementia
 Diagnosis of Frontemporal Dementia (Pick’s
Disease)
 Pick’s bodies in cells.
 Personality changes
 Behavioral dis-inhibition.
 Loss of social or personal awareness.
 Disengagement with apathy
 Maintain ability to draw and calculate well into later
stages
Alzheimer's Disease
 Estimated that 4,000,000 people in U.S. have
Alzheimer's disease.
 Estimated that 25-35% of people over age 85 have
some time of dementia.
 After age 65 the percentage of affected people,
doubles with every decade of life.
 Caring for patient with Alzheimer's disease can
cost $47,000 per year (NIH).
Changes Caused by Alzheimer's
 Diminished blood flow
 Neurofibrillary Tangles
 Neuritic Plaques
 Degeneration of hippocampus, cerebral cortex,
hypothalamus, and brain stem
Atrophic hippocampus in AD
Compare central sulcus of
Alzheimer’s patient with normal
81 year old woman
From Whole Brain Atlas at http://www.med.harvard.edu/AANLIB/home.html
74 year old AD patient: reduced blood flow
on SPECT in temporal areas
Normal vs AD Brain
Normal
brain
Alzheimer’s brain
AD Prognosis
 Alzheimer’s has a slowly progressive decline. These
meds can slow the progression, NOT halt it.
Function
Tim
Pick’s disease
 25 times rarer than Alzheimer’s dementia
 Frontal lobe clinical features
 Asymmetrical frontal or temporal atrophy
 Has been connected with semantic dementia, but
evidence is not conclusive yet
This 59 year old woman had a three year history of a progressive alteration in social
behavior which included apathy and occasional disinhibition. Images reveal severe
focal shrinkage of temporal and frontal lobes bilaterally.
Degeneration of the basal ganglia
 Huntington’s disease
 Rare: 5 in 100,000
 abnormal ‘exaggerated movements
 Parkinson's disease
 Common: 1 in 100 over age 65
 General slowing of voluntary movements
 Both diseases involve the basal ganglia, but in large
opposite ways
Basal ganglia
 Caudate
 Putamen
 Globus pallidus
 Subthalamic nuclei
 Substantia nigra
Striatum
Multi-infarct dementia (MID)
 Many small strokes
 Often mixed with Alzheimer’s dementia
Viral dementia: HIV
 20-60% of HIV patients suffers from dementia
 Cerebral atrophy may be caused by microglial nodules
Vocational Rehabilitation and Dementia
 Can dementia occur while an individual is
employed?
 Is dementia covered under the American’s with
Disabilities Act?
 Can jobs and tasks be modified to assist
individuals with mild forms of dementia?
 Can job discrimination occur for these
individuals?
 What types of job modifications and/or
assistive technology can you think of for an
individual with dementia?
End-stage Dementia
Prognosis < 6 mos:
 Severe dementia with need for total assistance in
ADLs (dressing, bathing, continence), unable to
walk, only able to speak a few words
 Comorbid conditions – aspiration pneumonia,
urosepsis, decubiti, sepsis
 *Unable to maintain caloric intake with weight
loss of 10% or more in 6 months (and no feeding
tubes)
Complications from dementia
 Delusions in up to 50%, most with paranoia
 Hallucinations in up to 25%
 Depression, social isolation may also occur
 Aggressive behavior in 20-40% (may be related to
above problems, misinterpretation)
 Dangerous behavior – driving, creating fires,
getting lost, unsafe use of firearms, neglect
 Sundowning – nocturnal episodes of confusion
with agitation, restlessness
Treatment of complications
 Hallucinations, delusions, agitation, sun-downing may be
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improved with anti-psychotics like haloperidol, risperdal,
mellaril…
If any signs of depression, may be beneficial to treat
Anxiety may respond to benzodiazepines
Behavioral mod – reinforce good behavior, DON’T fight
aggressive behavior
Familiarity (change in environments make things worse)
Safety – key locks, knobs off stoves, take away car
keys/cigarettes/firearms…, lights, watch stairs
Avoid restraints, use human contact/music/pets/
distraction
Artificial Nutrition in Dementia
 Many excellent reviews demonstrate no improvement
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in quality of life and quantity of life with G-tubes.
5% morbidity and mortality with the procedure itself
No decrease in aspiration with them
Risk of infection
Can keep patient comfortable without it
Complications from dementia
 Delusions in up to 50%, most with paranoia
 Hallucinations in up to 25%
 Depression, social isolation may also occur
 Aggressive behavior in 20-40% (may be related to
above problems, misinterpretation)
 Dangerous behavior – driving, creating fires,
getting lost, unsafe use of firearms, neglect
 Sundowning – nocturnal episodes of confusion
with agitation, restlessness
Drug treatment in Alzheimer’s
disease
 Many drugs aim to stimulate the cholinergic system
 These drugs have limited positive effects and do not
reverse the causes of AD
Dementia patients are very
sensitive to additional disabilities
 Illness
 Pain
 Medications
 Poor hearing
 Poor vision
Management of depression at end
of life
 Psychotherapy – behavioral, cognitive, and other
supportive approaches by psychologists, licensed
social workers, chaplains, even bereavement
counselors may help
 New coping strategies like meditation, relaxation,
guided imagery, hypnosis may help
 Medications
 Women attempt it twice as much, but men are 4x more
Suicide
likely to succeed
 White men over 85 are at highest risk to do it
 All patients with depressive symptoms should be
assessed for it
 Talking about it can decrease risks
 High risk of attempt if thoughts are recurring or if have
thought out the plan
ONE OTHER POTENTIAL EMERGENCY:
 If risk high – DON’T leave client alone, immediately
consult a psychiatrist – may need in-patient care or
involvement of authorities
Anxiety
 May be a normal response to the situation – fears,
uncertainty, reaction to physical condition, social
or spiritual needs
 Usually with 1 or more of the following signs –
agitation, restless, sweating, tachycardia,
hyperventilation, insomnia, excessive worry,
tension
 Look for signs of depression, delirium,
alcohol/drug abuse, caffeine abuse
 About 5% are affected by agoraphobia
Related anxiety conditions
 Panic attacks – acute onset of palpitations,
sweating, hot, shaking, chest pain, nausea, dizzy,
derealization, fear, numbness; usually short lived
 Phobias – fears with avoidance, feelings of being
trapped, exposed
 Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome – in response to
severe trauma, get more intense fear, terror,
dreams, feelings of helplessness, detachment that
can occur later on
Other EOL care needs for dementia
 In bedbound, watch out for and prevent decubiti
 Feeding instructions to prevent aspiration – head
up, chin tucked, thick consistency foods like
pudding/jello/ice cream…
 Caregiver stress – difficult care, poor sleep,
education to prevent aggressive behavior, early
bereavement losing loved one before they are
gone, need for support/respite
Summary
 A change in mental or emotional status of the
patient is not uncommon with a life-threatening
illness
 Need to be aware of conditions that may be
normal reactions or have causes that are
potentially reversible, but at the end of life, may
need to focus on acute management of these
conditions
 Need compassionate, supportive care for patient
and caregiver, always addressing safety
Links
 Alzheimer’s Association: http://www.alz.org/
 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke’s page on dementia:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dementias/d
ementia.htm
 How to manage difficult behaviors from the
Association for Frontotemporal Disorders:
http://www.ftd-picks.org/?p=caregiver.managing