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.
