Chapter 18. Disorders of Aging and Cognition

"I'm no fool, no sirree! I'm gonna live to be 103. . . ." sang the Disney character Jiminy Cricket decades ago. If Jiminy Cricket had been a human (most crickets live only a few weeks), what's the BEST advice you could have given him to live a very long life?

Accepts life challenges with positivity. Optimistic and genes.

An elderly individual has just been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. MOST likely, the diagnosis is:

Generalized anxiety disorder.

Neurocognitive disorders are also associated with:

HIV.

Sources of discrimination in the mental health care of the elderly include:

Language barriers that interfere with medical and mental health care.

Which would be at greatest risk for depression?

Older woman in nursing home.

You would suspect a problem in the _____ for someone experiencing difficulty with short-term memory.

Prefrontal lobe.

Research evaluating sociocultural approaches to dealing with Alzheimer's disease, for example, assisted-living facilities and day-care facilities, shows that, in general, patients receiving these forms of care:

Enjoy life more, and don't continue to decline as quickly.

The percentage of the elderly population living in nursing homes at any given time is about:

5%.

A person who has Alzheimer's, although there is no family history of the disease, is said to be experiencing:

Sporadic Alzheimer's.

Those who begin unhealthy drinking patterns later in life typically begin as a response to:

Declining health or financial status.

In people with Alzheimer's disease, memory problems appear to be caused by disruption of the production of:

Memory-linked proteins.

Approximately what proportion of nursing home residents is receiving antipsychotic drugs?

One third.

The molecules that are found in sphere-shaped deposits in spaces between neurons in the hippocampus in individuals with Alzheimer's disease are called:

Beta-amyloid protein.

Which statement regarding the use of drug therapy to slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease is accurate?

Slows it down but it's still progressive, earlier the better.

A friend says, "My 70-year-old grandmother is in good physical health but has been diagnosed with depression. Should she even bother getting therapy? She is pretty old, after all." Your BEST research-based answer is:

Yes she should have benefit of therapy.

"Grandma is 65 years old, and there's no sign of neurocognitive disorder," says a friend of yours. Your MOST accurate reply is:

"That's wonderful --- about 1 to 2 percent of people that age do have signs of neurocognitive disorder."

Of 100 typical elderly patients entering a hospital for a general medical condition, about how many would initially be diagnosed with delirium, and about how many more would develop delirium while in the hospital (in that order)?

10% - diagnosed. 10% - while in hospital.

The percentage of the U.S. population today aged 65 and older is:

13%.

About what percentage of those with Alzheimer's disease are cared for by their relatives?

90 percent.

Among the elderly, schizophrenia is:

Less common than among younger individuals, and there are fewer new cases per year.

The fact that Alzheimer's disease resembles Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease suggests that Alzheimer's may be caused by:

A virus.

The MOST frequent cause of neurocognitive disorder in the elderly is:

Alzheimer's.

One of the MOST frequent reasons for the institutionalization of Alzheimer's patients is:

Because home caregivers are overwhelmed.

A clouding of consciousness that develops over a short period of time and can often be reversed if its underlying cause can be found is called:

Delirium.

An 80-year-old hospitalized individual is recovering from surgery but now has gotten an infection. Over the course of a few days, the person shows increasing confusion and consistently misinterprets what others are trying to communicate. The MOST probable diagnosis for this condition would be:

Delirium.

What does the research show that nursing homes should do to meet the emotional needs of their patients?

Let them do what they want.

Recent research shows that a person developing Alzheimer's disease is related to:

Lower hippacampus activity later in life.

About 17 percent of individuals with Alzheimer's disease also experience:

Major depressive disorder.

An individual with Alzheimer's disease is no longer able to function independently. The MOST appropriate diagnosis for this person's condition is:

Major neurocognitive disorder.

Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed on the basis of:

Neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques evident in autopsy.

An individual suffering from a neurological disorder shows no evidence of infection or poisoning but experiences tremors, rigidity, and unsteadiness. The MOST probable diagnosis is:

Parkinson's disease.

The part of the brain MOST important for short-term (working) memory is (are) the:

Prefrontal lobes.

The brain changes that those with Alzheimer's disease experience are:

Similar to those of most elderly people, but happen to an excessive degree.

An individual who demonstrates a severe anterograde amnesia may still demonstrate evidence of:

Verbal skills.