Question

For the following case studies, tell me whether the dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, Frontotemporal dementia, and prion disease, and please explain your reasoning (1 point each).

1. 76-year-old male presented with impairment to memory, attention, visuospatial, and executive function. He performed worse on measure of executive function and visuospatial compared to memory and attention. Language tested within working limits. MRI revealed focal infarcts in the frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices.

2. 65-year-old female presented an impairment to several cognitive systems. She initially tested as having a severe impairment to memory and attention, but her most recent test showed only a mild impairment to both systems. Partner reported she often moves in her sleep.

3. 81-year-old female was diagnosed with a cognitive impairment and died within 4 months.

4. 55-year-old male presented with a memory impairment with concurrent language impairment (anomia). MRI revealed atrophy in the inferior parietal lobe, middle temporal lobe, and orbital frontal lobe. Social awareness was currently preserved.

5. 45-year-old male presented with personality changes and impulsivity. MRI revealed no atrophy or focal lesions. Measures of episodic and semantic memory indicated a mild impairment to both systems. A measure of executive function indicated a moderate impairment.

Answer 1

Dementia is a cognitive disorder characterized by disturbances in thinking, learning, memory, reasoning, and behavior. The causes of dementia are Alzheimer's disease, side effects of therapeutics, emotional problems, infection in the brain, and other diseases that affect the brain.

In the case of a 76-year-old male, dementia is Frontotemporal dementia

This type of dementia occurs due to the damage to the frontal and temporal lobes of brains that results in neuronal damage leads to impairment to memory, attention, visuospatial, and executive function. He performed worse on a measure of executive function and visuospatial compared to memory and attention.

In the case of a 65-year-old female, dementia is Lewy body dementia

This type of dementia is associated with the deposition of the protein called alpha-synuclein in the brain. These deposits in the brain are called Lewy bodies. This leads to impairment in cognitive functions. In this case, the affected person sleeps in the day time and at night moves around his bed in sleep.  

In the case of a 81-year-old female, dementia is prion disease dementia.

This type of dementia is caused due to the misfolded forms of the prion proteins. This prion protein disease is a cause of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease. Normally the average life of patients diagnosed with dementia is in years but in the case of prions disease, the person dies within months.

In the case of a 55-year-old male, dementia is Alzheimer’s disease

The language problem, destruction of brain cells in different areas.

In the case of a 45-year-old male, Dementia is vascular dementia

These are usually, occurs due to the cerebrovascular disorders and cardiovascular disorders.