Neurocognitive Disorders in a Population-Based Cohort of Older Adults Essay

Introduction

Major Neurocognitive Disorder due to Alzheimer’s Disease is a mental condition associated with loss of cognitive function in the affected patient. This progressive loss of cognitive functions is due to attacks on the nerves associated with cholinergic receptors. Eramudugolla et al, (2017), according to DSM V, aging is associated with memory loss and reduced cognitive abilities, however, patients with Major Neurocognitive Disorder have an increased dependence due to extensive loss of cognitive function.  Neurocognitive Disorders in a Population-Based Cohort of Older Adults Essay

Summary of the Case Study

The patient is a 76-year-old Iranian male presented by his son with a complaint of strange behavior. Due to his presentation, a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is made. His son reports that he has shown strange thoughts and behavior for the past 2 years. His family physician has ruled out any organic causes of his behavioral changes and diagnostic studies done have also ruled out any organic basis for his condition. The behavioral changes noted were change in personality, apathy, and memory loss with difficulty locating the right words during conversations. These changes are reported to have been getting worse with time. He first started losing interest in religious activity, which he used to perform together with the family. Instead, he became critical of everyone and now sees serious things as a source of amusement and ridicule. During the interview, confabulation is noted and the patient reports euthymic mood. In addition, the patient demonstrates judgement impairment with lack of impulse control and insight.  He has no suicidal thoughts leading to the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, a neurocognitive disorder.

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Decision point one- Start Aricept (donepezil) 5 mg orally, BEDTIME

Reason for the decision and expected outcome: Donepezil is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor that inhibits the breakdown of acetylcholine hence increasing its level in the brain. This improves the function of cholinergic neurons. Studies show that this improves behavior, cognition, and functional abilities in Alzheimer’s patients (Birks & Harvey, 2018). This will improve memory, the thinking process, and the ability to conduct the daily activities of life. This would improve the patient’s quality of life, although it would take some time before showing improvement. Donepezil is approved by the FDA for the treatment of dementia associated with Alzheimer’s.

The other drug, Exelon is also an Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor with a similar mechanism of action as Donepezil. However, it has a different pharmacokinetics and would require twice daily dosing. This would be a problem in compliance especially for a patient with cognitive dysfunction like this patient. Neurocognitive Disorders in a Population-Based Cohort of Older Adults Essay

Expected Outcome

After treatment with the medication, it is expected that the patient will show improvement in his memory process and be able to participate in religious activities and engage in conversations, and developing interest in things he used to take seriously. We also expect minimal to no changes in mini-mental state examination (MMSE).

Difference between expected and Actual outcome:  The patient comes back after a few weeks with no change with the medication. He however reports no adverse effects like nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea from the medication.

Decision Point Two- Increase Aricept to 10mg orally at BEDTIME

Reason for selection and expected outcome: Since the patient tolerated the initial treatment and had no side effects, it can be safe to increase the dose a little to achieve better results (Birks & Harvey, 2018). This However, it is probably a good time to explain to the son that the medications will not bring results immediately and that their father would not get better as before. He should understand that this treatment is only targeted behavioral improvement and cognitive behavioral therapy can also be suggested (Burke et al., 2018). Increasing the dose of Aricept to 15-20mg may have more adverse effects that may cause discomfort for the patient.

Expected Outcome

The expected outcome is behavioral improvement that will allow the patient to interact better with his relatives and have a better quality of life. Neurocognitive Disorders in a Population-Based Cohort of Older Adults Essay

Difference between expected and actual outcome: The outcome of the treatment is as expected as the patient come back again having tolerated the medication well and is now less critical. The son reports that he is now attending religious services with the family, but is still easily amused by serious things.

Decision point Three- Continue Aricept 10mg orally at BEDTIME

Reasons for selection and expected outcome: Since the patient is responding well to the therapy, At this point, continuing therapy is the best option. Currently, no study has shown that higher doses of Aricept yields more results, whereas higher doses can cause side effects like vomiting and loose stools.

Difference between expected and actual outcome: The patient is still tolerating the drugs well and is showing some behavioral improvement. There are no drug side effects seen. It would be important at this point to address the son’s concern for lack of improvement by assuring him that the drugs take longer for treatment to take effect (Burke et al., 2018). The patient has only been on treatment for four weeks. They should be advised to also explore other treatment modalities like cognitive behavioral therapy in combination with the medication treatment (Smith et al., 2017).

Conclusion

The pharmacological agents used  in the management of Alzheimer’s disease do not alter the  disease progress (Korabecny et al., 2019). They are just used for behavioral modification to improve the patient’s quality of life and to help them cope better with family members. The patient’s caregivers should be informed that the condition is progressive and thus cognitive function may continue to deteriorate despite pharmacological treatment. They should also know that therapeutic interventions given do not treat the condition but only tries to improve symptoms of cognitive loss, and this may take a while to be effective. Neurocognitive Disorders in a Population-Based Cohort of Older Adults Essay

 References

Birks, J. S., & Harvey, R. J. (2018). Donepezil for dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018(6). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd001190.pub3

Burke, T., Galvin, M., Maguire, S., Pender, N., & Hardiman, O. (2018). The impact of cognitive and behavioural change on quality of life of caregivers and patients with ALS and other neurological conditions. Oxford Medicine Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780198757726.003.0009

Eramudugolla, R., Mortby, M. E., Sachdev, P., Meslin, C., Kumar, R., & Anstey, K. J. (2017). Evaluation of a research diagnostic algorithm for DSM-5 neurocognitive disorders in a population-based cohort of older adults. Alzheimer’s research & therapy, 9(1), 1-12

Korabecny, J., Spilovska, K., Mezeiova, E., Benek, O., Juza, R., Kaping, D., & Soukup, O. (2019). A systematic review on donepezil-based derivatives as potential cholinesterase inhibitors for Alzheimer’s disease. Current Medicinal Chemistry, 26(30), 5625-5648. https://doi.org/10.2174/0929867325666180517094023

Smith, D., Lovell, J., Weller, C., Kennedy, B., Winbolt, M., Young, C., & Ibrahim, J. (2017). A systematic review of medication non-adherence in persons with dementia or cognitive impairment. PLOS ONE, 12(2), e0170651. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0170651

Alzheimer’s Disease
BACKGROUND
Mr. Akkad is a 76-year-old Iranian male who is brought to your office by his eldest son for “strange behavior.” Mr. Akkad was seen by his family physician who ruled out any organic basis for Mr. Akkad’s behavior. All laboratory and diagnostic imaging tests (including CT scan of the head) were normal.
According to his son, he has been demonstrating some strange thoughts and behaviors for the past two years, but things seem to be getting worse. Per the client’s son, the family noticed that Mr. Akkad’s personality began to change a few years ago. He began to lose interest in religious activities with the family and became more “critical” of everyone. They also noticed that things he used to take seriously had become a source of “amusement” and “ridicule.” Neurocognitive Disorders in a Population-Based Cohort of Older Adults Essay
Over the course of the past two years, the family has noticed that Mr. Akkad has been forgetting things. His son also reports that sometimes he has difficulty “finding the right words” in a conversation and then will shift to an entirely different line of conversation.

SUBJECTIVE
During the clinical interview, Mr. Akkad is pleasant, cooperative, and seems to enjoy speaking with you. You notice some confabulation during various aspects of memory testing, so you perform a Mini-Mental State Exam. Mr. Akkad scores 18 out of 30 with primary deficits in orientation, registration, attention & calculation, and recall. The score suggests moderate dementia.

MENTAL STATUS EXAM
Mr. Akkad is a 76-year-old Iranian male who is cooperative with today’s clinical interview. His eye contact is poor. Speech is clear, coherent, but tangential at times. He makes no unusual motor movements and demonstrates no tic. The self-reported mood is euthymic. Affect however is restricted. He denies visual or auditory hallucinations. No delusional or paranoid thought processes were noted. He is alert and oriented to person, partially oriented to place, but is disoriented to time and event [he reports that he thought he was coming to lunch but “wound up here”- referring to your office, at which point he begins to laugh]. Insight and judgment are impaired. Impulse control is also impaired as evidenced by Mr. Akkad’s standing up during the clinical interview and walking toward the door. When you asked where he was going, he stated that he did not know. Mr. Akkad denies suicidal or homicidal ideation.
Diagnosis: Major neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer’s disease (presumptive)

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RESOURCES
§ Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E., & McHugh, P. R. (2002). Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources. Neurocognitive Disorders in a Population-Based Cohort of Older Adults Essay

To Prepare
• Review the interactive media piece assigned by your Instructor.
• Reflect on the patient’s symptoms and aspects of the disorder presented in the interactive media piece.
• Consider how you might assess and treat patients presenting with the symptoms of the patient case study you were assigned.
• You will be asked to make three decisions concerning the diagnosis and treatment for this patient. Reflect on potential co-morbid physical as well as patient factors that might impact the patient’s diagnosis and treatment.
By Day 7 of Week 8
Write a 3- to 4-page summary paper that addresses the following:
• Briefly summarize the patient case study you were assigned, including each of the three decisions you took for the patient presented.
• Based on the decisions you recommended for the patient case study, explain whether you believe the decisions provided were supported by the evidence-based literature. Be specific and provide examples. Be sure to support your response with evidence and references from outside resources.
• What were you hoping to achieve with the decisions you recommended for the patient case study you were assigned? Support your response with evidence and references from outside resources.
• Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with each of the decisions and the results of the decision in the exercise. Describe whether they were different. Be specific and provide examples.
You will submit this Assignment in Week 8. Neurocognitive Disorders in a Population-Based Cohort of Older Adults Essay