Comparing Cognitive Changes
Shelly H. Gross
HCS/551 Biological and Psychological Aspects of Aging
March 02, 2015
Dr. Patricia Harvey
Comparing Cognitive Changes
Just as physical decline occurs with aging, so does cognition. It is a heterogeneous progression affecting elders at various ages, frequencies, and levels of decline (Morgan & Kunkel, 2011). This paper will explore three cognitive disorders—Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson's disease— describing each syndrome, how they are assessed, their indications and progression, and the effects on patients' families and society. It will address methods to inhibit, slow down, overcome, treat, and manage each disease, summarize similarities and differences, and assess availability and sufficiency of resources.
Mild Cognitive Impairment
Mild Cognitive Disorder (MCI) is a pathological cognitive disorder that falls along a collection between typical age-related cognitive decline and the severe cognitive pathology that occurs with dementia (Mayo Clinic, 2013). Physicians establish diagnoses on medical history, assessment of mood, mental condition, thinking abilities, Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), and input from family (Alzheimer's Association, 2013). Additionally, physicians use brain imaging studies to evaluate MCI (Mayo Clinic, 2013). With cognitive disorders memory is negatively affected. In addition, problems occur with elders' ability to reason, speak, and make sound judgments, but these difficulties are minor, only somewhat worse than those observed with normal aging. Other symptoms include:
forgetting important events more often;
losing train of thought (e.g., in conversations);
decision-making problems (e.g., making plans);
developing impulsivity, poor judgment, and poor recall about familiar surroundings; and
developing apathy, anxiety, depression, irritability, and aggression (Mayo...