Alzheimers Disease Diagnosis - Paper Example

The possible diagnosis for the clients case is Alzheimers disease which is a type of dementia characterized by neurological and behavioural impairments that hinders performance at occupational and social duties. The disease attacks the hippocampus and the cerebral cortex which are brain structures that support memory, and thought processing and decision making respectively (DeFina, Moser, Glenn, Lichtenstein, & Fellus, 2013). From the case study, the 67-year-old woman reported forgetting names, people and recently was lost while driving in a familiar neighborhood. The disease has no treatment and takes a progressive course from mild to severe Alzheimers, and has a long preclinical period.

The differential diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease based on the clients symptom presentation includes Aphasia and Parkinson disease. The Parkinson disease is a neurologic disease that attacks people of the age 60 years and over. The condition leads to disability and has no treatment except management and control (DeMaagd & Philip, 2015). Some of the symptoms include soft voice, reduced facial expression, and slow thinking. In Aphasia, the patient develops language disorder induced by damage or degeneration of the left cerebral region of the brain (Charidimou, Kasselimis, Varkanitsa, Selai, Potagas, & Evdokimidis, 2014). One of the symptoms of this condition is the inability of the patients to use or understand language.

The diagnosis of the presence of Alzheimers disease can be performed by physicians conveniently, but establishing the exact cause of the condition is a challenge. The medical evaluation focuses on the clients physical and mental examination, neurological test and other clinical tests such brain imaging and blood tests (E Lakhan, 2017). Lumbar puncture is one of the clinical tests that is used to establish the presence of the condition, to tell the levels of phosphorylated tau protein in the cerebrospinal fluid. In the presence of the condition the levels of phosphorylated tau are always in high volume and the levels of amyloids at low. The imaging studies are applied to determine the presence and design intervention for the causes of cognitive degeneration, for instance, normal-pressure hydrocephalus.

The condition has no known treatment, but there are various mechanisms used to manage and prevent its occurring. The procedures are available that target the regulation of neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine. The treatment also targets the secondary causes of the condition such as dementia, agitation, and sleep problems among others. The antidepressants such as Celexa are used to control the depression that attacks these patients and worsens the case. Anxiolytics are medications used to treat anxiety which makes patients with this condition lose the control of their motor capacities. The patients with Parkinson disease that are linked to the disease are treated with the anti-Parkinsonians agents to slow the progress of Alzheimers disease. Beta-blockers are a medication that is used to control blood pressure which also affects patients with this condition (Mendiola-Precoma, Berumen, Padilla, & Garcia-Alcocer, 2016). For those with a behavioral issue that is induced by psychotic conditions such as bipolar disorders, they are administered with different kinds of antipsychotic medications. The antiepileptic drugs such as Gabapentin are used to treat signs of seizer for these patients to facilitate their recovery. This condition can be prevented by encouraging vulnerable people (60 years and above) to maintain an active life with physical exercises. It is also vital to ensure the fitness of the cardiorespiratory system to prevent heart problems such as the high blood pressure. Maintaining a healthy diet is advisable to reduce the risks of developing complications associated with the problem (Swaminathan & Jicha, 2014). Nutritional therapy is essential to help slow the progress of the disease.

References

Charidimou, A., Kasselimis, D., Varkanitsa, M., Selai, C., Potagas, C., & Evdokimidis, I. (2014). Why is it difficult to predict language impairment and outcome in patients with aphasia after stroke?. Journal of Clinical Neurology, 10(2), 75-83.

DeFina, P. A., Moser, R. S., Glenn, M., Lichtenstein, J. D., & Fellus, J. (2013). Alzheimer's disease clinical and research update for healthcare practitioners. Journal of aging research, 2013.

E Lakhan, S. (2017, October 12). Alzheimer Disease. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1134817-overview

DeMaagd, G., & Philip, A. (2015). Parkinsons disease and its management: part 1: disease entity, risk factors, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and diagnosis. Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 40(8), 504.

Mendiola-Precoma, J., Berumen, L. C., Padilla, K., & Garcia-Alcocer, G. (2016). Therapies for prevention and treatment of Alzheimers disease. BioMed research international, 2016.

Swaminathan, A., & Jicha, G. A. (2014). Nutrition and prevention of Alzheimers dementia. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 6.