Major Neurocognitive Disorder Due to Alzheimer’s Disease
Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is difficult because one can only run the disease directly when the patient is dead, which most people do not wait until a patient dies to run the test. This is the main reason why several tests are conducted, and a conclusion of those entire tests is used to determine whether or not one has Alzheimer’s disease. The result used to conclude includes the reports from a close relative on any patient changes, including their way of thinking, for example, instances of memory loss. In the case study, the patient has shown the symptoms where the elder son who brought him for treatment justifies that. Secondly, cognitive testing where the patient's conversation is smooth, and he seems to enjoy it. Still, some inconsistencies trigger the urge for a mini-mental state exam where the patient scores 18 out of 30, and that is a suggestion the patient may be suffering mini dementia. Thirdly is the brain scan where the patient shows poor eye contact and tangential speech, though clear, and the patient is also disoriented to event and time.
The decisions are entirely supported by the pieces of evidence provided. For example, the evidence that was given by the son of the patient indicates that the patient has had some strange behaviors and thought changes. This was the main reason I decided that the patient's action should be analyzed to see whether they have Alzheimer's disease. Secondly, the mental examination decision was triggered by the fact that the son stated that the patient had difficulties remembering things. During the examination, I concurred that he had difficulties remembering things because he scored 18 out of 30 in the mini-mental state exam. It is also scientifically clear that a mental status exam should be conducted to diagnose Alzheimer's disease patients. Other information like reports of changed behaviors from close relatives made the decisions completely supported by evidence-based literature.
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The prominent anticipation I had for the decisions I made regarding the case study was to make sure I get to understand whether the patient had Alzheimer's disease (Lanctôt et al., 2017). That was the main reason why after the symptoms of behavioral and mind change that the son to the patient gave, I recommended the cognitive testing and the mini-mental state exams whose results are analyzed and a conclusion made on whether the patient is suffering the Alzheimer's disease.
Firstly, the son's signs raised suspicion because the behavioral and thought changes that the patient was experiencing suggested that they had Alzheimer's disease, which came out positively after the other test for Alzheimer's disease were conducted. The memory loss that the patient was suffering showed that they had dementia. Still, my conclusions were wrong because of memory loss and difficulty remembering Alzheimer's disease. The mental status exam also confirmed that the patient had Alzheimer's disease and not dementia, which aligned with my expectations.
Reference
Lanctôt, K. L., Amatniek, J., Ancoli-Israel, S., Arnold, S. E., Ballard, C., Cohen-Mansfield, J., ... & Boot, B. (2017). Neuropsychiatric signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease: New treatment paradigms. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions , 3 (3), 440-449.
