In: Nursing
Mrs. Czerny, age 81, was diagnosed with Alzheimer disease when she had difficulty learning the names of her new grandchildren. Further, she then got lost several times on the way to her local grocery store. Her family had noticed several years of increasing forgetfulness before her diagnosis but had thought that was part of aging. Over the next 4 years after diagnosis, Mrs. Czerny became more in need of care because of decreased judgment and self-care ability. Her family hired a full-time care giver. Eventually, she failed to recognize her family members when they came to visit, which greatly distressed them.
Discuss the altered physiology presented in the clinical situation.
According to Q, 81 year old Grandmother is suffering from ALZHEIMER DISEASE.
Q is discussion of altered physiology for the symptoms of Alzheimer
ANS -Knowing disease in detail
Alzheimer's is defined as a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and gradually worsens over time.
The most common symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events and names which is already mentioned in Q.
As the disease advances, symptoms also increases like disorientation, mood swings, unable to manage self-care, and behavioural issues.
CAUSE-
Cause is still unknown. Several hypotheses has been proposed which tries to explain the cause of the disease.
Genetic hypothesis - Autosomal dominant disease with APP(Amyloid Precursor Protein) gene mutation leading to formation of defective APP protein which cause the disease.
Cholinergic hypothesis - Reduce synthesis of ACETYLCHOLINE
Amyloid hypothesis - Deposition of Amyloid beta in brain cause this changes
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY - It is a degenerative disease which is caused due to age or genetic mutation or deposition of amyloid in brain(different hypothesis) which causes loss of neurons and synapses in the cerebral cortex and certain subcortical regions. This includes degeneration in the temporal lobe and parietal lobe, and parts of the frontal cortex and cingulate gyrus. This is confimed by presence of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles visible on microscopy.