Effects of alcohol on cognition What effects does alcohol have on cognition? Alcoholism can be associated with acute nutritional syndromes producing encephalopathy, such as Wernicke’s encephalopathy and Marchiafava–Bignami. The acute syndromes can lead to chronic amnestic syndromes, such as Korsakoff’s. Alcoholism can cause slowly progressive, chronic cognitive impairment, which is referred to as alcoholic dementia . It is characterized …
Effects of obstructive sleep apnea on cognition What effects does obstructive sleep apnea have on cognition? Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with significant cognitive and behavioral dysfunction. It causes impaired executive functioning that is due, at least in part, to sleepiness. Visual ability, verbal ability, and long-term memory are relatively preserved localizing the deficit to prefrontal …
How are Neurocognitive Disorders treated? It is useful to consider the A-B-Cs of dementia: affect, behavior, and cognition The cognitive deficits of dementia include memory loss, disorientation, apraxia, anomia, etc. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine) are the mainstays for treating the cognitive symptoms in mild to severe Alzhemiers Disease. Rivastigmine also has butyrylcholinesterase inhibiting …
Neurobehavioral features of Huntingtons disease What are the neurobehavioral characteristics of Huntington’s disease (HD)? Development of neuropsychiatric disturbances is a common feature of HD. Minor alterations in personality and behavior are the initial symptoms in a vast majority of cases. A wide range of neuropsychiatric symptoms have been reported, including depression, apathy, anxiety, irritability, poor self-control, perseveration, …
Neurobehavioral features of Huntingtons disease (HD) Read More »
Neurobehavioral features of vascular dementia (VaD) What are the neurobehavioral characteristics of vascular dementia (VaD)? Vascular dementia (VaD) is the second most common type of dementia, either alone or in combination with AD. It is a highly heterogeneous entity commonly associated with executive dysfunction and relatively preserved verbal memory. Cognitive impairment depends on the vessels involved and …
Neurobehavioral features of vascular dementia (VaD) Read More »
What is Progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA)? Progressive nonfluent aphasia and semantic dementia disorders are characterized under the rubric of primary progressive aphasia and are considered in the family of FTLD. They involve the gradual and relatively isolated dissolution of language function. Language impairment is usually the only factor that compromises ADLs for at least the …
Neurobehavioral features of frontotemporal dementia What are the neurobehavioral characteristics of frontotemporal dementia (FTLD) ? Frontotemporal dementia (FTLD) is a heterogeneous group of disorders that is variable in clinical presentation and has several different associated pathologic findings. FTLD is typically divided into three clinical syndromes: behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), semantic dementia (SD), and progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA or PPA). BvFTD typically …
Neurobehavioral features of frontotemporal dementia (FTLD) Read More »