mental progressive decline?

Question

Mrs jones had a progressive decline in her mental capbilities in tha last five years.at first her family attributed her occasional memory lapses,confusion and aggitation to grief over her husband death of six years ealier,when examined,Mrs jones was was aware of her cognitive problems and was shown of an I Q score of approximatley 30 points less than would be predicted by her working history.A CT scan showed difued cerebral atrophy.the physician prescribed an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and Mrs jones showed slight improvement.what is Mrs jones problem? why did the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor help?

Answer 1

Mrs. Jones has Alzheimer's dementia. One feature of the illness is the death of neurons that use acetylcholine as their neurotransmitter. The acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are intended to increase the amount of acetylcholine in the synapses to compensate. There's a mild improvement in cognition as a result but it doesn't seem to slow the progression of the disease any.

Answer 2

Most likely not enough o2 getting to the brain.