Dementia Disorder and Neurodegenerative Pathology

Practice flashcards covering the definition, symptoms, regional brain effects, physiology, and types of dementia based on the lecture notes.

Dementia

A syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterised by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person’s ability to perform activities, involving problems with memory, thinking, behaviour and motor control.

Hippocampus (Cell Death Effect)

Cell death in this region will cause short term memory loss and spatial awareness.

Cortex

The brain region responsible for higher-level processes of the human brain, including language, memory, reasoning, thought, learning, decision-making, emotion, intelligence and personality.

Frontal lobe (Cell Death Effect)

Cell death in this region will cause changes in personality, which makes patients disinhibited.

Temporal lobe (Cell Death Effect)

Cell death in this region causes effects in languages.

Cerebellum (Cell Death Effect)

Cell death in this region causes effects in gait, stance, and balance.

Subcortical structures (Cell Death Effect)

Cell death in these structures causes effects in balance.

Amygdala (Cell Death Effect)

Cell death in this region causes effects in fear management and emotional response.

Amyloid plaques

Unusual clumps of protein (beta-amyloid) found in tissues between nerve cells along with degenerating bits of neurons and other cells.

Neurofibrillary tangles

Bundles of twisted filaments found within neurons that are largely made up of the protein tau.

Neuroinflammation

Inflammation of the nervous tissue around neurons in the brain.

Vascular changes

Narrowing of blood vessels due to atherosclerosis.

Neurodegeneration

The progressive loss of structure or function of neurons that culminates in cellular atrophy and death.

Dementia Prognosis (Timeframe)

The time from diagnosis to death is typically $7-10\text{ years}$.

Dementia Causes of Death

Usually caused by complications and secondary causes, such as pneumonia or poor management of CV diseases.

Substantia nigra (Lewy Bodies)

A brain region crucial for controlling movement where Lewy bodies are found in Parkinson Disease.

Cerebral cortex (Lewy Body distribution)

A brain region where the distribution of Lewy bodies leads to cognitive decline.

Limbic system (Lewy Body distribution)

A brain region where the distribution of Lewy bodies leads to hallucinations and emotional disturbances.

Brain stem (Lewy Body distribution)

A brain region where the distribution of Lewy bodies leads to sleeping issues.

Vascular Dementia

A result of damage on the body's network of blood vessels, which can be affected by diabetes, smoking, and blood pressure.

Lewy bodies

Tiny clumps of protein that appear in the nerve cells of the brain.