Category: NEUROCOGNITIVE DISORDERS

Parkinson’s Disease is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the brain that causes a gradual loss of muscle control. Age is the largest risk factor, with most people who develop Parkinson’s being 60 or older, and symptoms may take as long as 20 years to become full blown. While a small number of individuals are at risk because of a family history of the disorder, head trauma, exposure o environmental toxins, or illness could be risk factors.

Primary symptoms include slowness of movement, difficulty maintaining balance, muscle rigidity, and tremors. While there is no cure for Parkinson’s there are a number of treatment options available to make everyday life as easy as possible. Using a bath chair in the shower, well-lit stairwells, night lights for rooms and hallways, keeping walking areas clutter-free, avoiding rugs and/or carpets, and wearing low-heeled, comfortable shoes are some safety tips to keep in mind.

Worried that your loved or you might have Parkinson’s Disease?

1. Does your loved one / you experience tremors or involuntary shaking of hands, arms, legs, jaw, and/or face?
2. Does your loved one / you experience shuffling gait with short steps and trouble moving/walking?
3. Does your loved one / you experience impaired balance and coordination?
4. Does your loved one / you experience stiffness of the limbs and trunk?
5. Does your loved one / you experience dizziness or frequent fainting?
6. Does your loved one / you experience stooping or hunching over?
7. Does your loved one / you experience slowness of movement?
8. Does your loved one / you experience reduced arm swinging?

Treatments that can help your loved one or you:

Neuropsychological Assessment

Counselling

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Group Therapy

Family Therapy

Supportive Therapy

Medication (if needed)

A stroke occurs when blood supply to the brain is reduced or interrupted, decreasing or stopping oxygen supply, causing brain cells to die. Symptomatic and silent are the two types of strokes. While symptomatic strokes, as the name suggests have identifiable symptoms, silent strokes are subtle, and neither the onset nor the side-effects are easily identifiable. In fact, most who have suffered a silent stroke will not even be aware that they have had a stroke till they have a brain scan as side-affects may be attributed to ageing.

Life after a stroke requires regular check-ups, neuromuscular rehabilitation, and mental health care. Also, in addition to movement, memory and speech being affected, those who have had a stroke are at risk of having another one. Risk factors for stroke include age, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, smoking, obesity, family history of strokes, and brain aneurysms.

If you suspect that you or your loved one are having or have had a stroke, get professional medical help immediately as every minute counts.

Worried that your loved or you might have had a Stroke?

1. Have your loved one / you experienced sudden weakness/numbness or drooping on one side of the face?
2. Have your loved one / you experienced sudden numbness on an entire side of one’s body?
3. Have your loved one / you experienced sudden dizziness or coordination issues when walking?
4. Have your loved one / you experienced sudden confusion in comprehension?
5. Have your loved one / you experienced sudden difficulty in speech, slurred speech?
6. Have your loved one / you experienced sudden trouble in walking, dizziness or loss of balance/coordination?
7. Have your loved one / you experienced sudden severe headaches unlike any experienced before?

Treatments that can help you or your loved one:

Neuropsychological Assessment

Counselling

Family Therapy

Medication (if needed)

Supportive Therapy

Delirium is a major disturbance in attention and orientation to the environment. As the person’s focus becomes less clear, he or she has great difficulty concentrating and thinking in an organized way, leading to misinterpretations, illusions, and on occasion, hallucinations. Sufferers may believe that it is morning in the middle of the night or that they are home when actually they are in a hospital room. Generally, delirium has a sudden onset (hours or days), a brief and fluc­tuating course, and rapid improvement. Delirium may occur in any age group, including children, but is most common in elderly people. Fever, certain diseases and infections, poor nutrition, head injuries, strokes, and stress (including the trauma of surgery) may all cause delirium. Delirium often involves perceptual disturbances, abnormal psychomotor activity, and sleep cycle impairment.

Worried that your loved one may suffer from Delirium?

1. Does your loved one have difficulty focusing attention, for example being easily distractible, or having difficulty keeping track of what was being said?
2. Is his/her thinking disorganized or incoherent, such as rambling or irrelevant conversation, unclear or illogical flow of ideas, or unpredictable switching from subject to subject?
3. Is he/she able to adequately respond to stimulation?
4. Does he/she tend to get disoriented, such as misjudging the time of day or place where he is in or fail to recognise people around him?
5. Has he demonstrated any memory problems, such as inability to remember events or difficulty remembering instructions?
6. Did he/she show evidence of disturbance of the sleep‐wake cycle, such as excessive daytime sleepiness with insomnia at night?

If you have said yes to most of the above, we might be able to help you.

Treatments that can help you or your loved one:

Neuropsychological Assessment

Counselling

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Family Therapy

Supportive Therapy

Medication (if needed)

Dementia refers to a disease process marked by progressive cognitive impairment in clear consciousness. Alzheimer’s Disease is one of the most common forms of Dementia. It usually begins with mild memory problems, lapses of attention, and difficulties in language and communication. As symptoms worsen, the person has trouble completing complicated tasks or remembering important appointments. Eventually sufferers also have difficulty with simple tasks, forget distant memories, and have changes in personality that often become very noticeable. For example, a gentle man may become uncharacteristically aggressive. People with Alzheimer’s disease may at first deny that they have a problem, but they soon become anxious or depressed about their state of mind; many also become agitated.  As the neurocognitive symptoms intensify, people with Alzheimer’s disease show less and less awareness of their limitations. They may withdraw from others during the later stages of the disorder, become more confused about time and place, wander, and show very poor judgment. Eventually they become fully dependent on other people. They may lose almost all knowledge of the past and fail to recognize the faces of even close relatives. They also become increasingly uncomfortable at night and take frequent naps during the day. During the late phases of the disorder, they require constant care.

Worried that your loved one / you may suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease?

1. Does your loved one / you forget important dates or events or ask for the same information over and over,
2. Does your loved one / you tend to increasingly rely on aides or family members for things they used to handle on their own?
3. Does your loved one / you face difficulty in developing and following a plan or work with numbers?
4. Does your loved one / you face difficulty in completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure?
5. Does your loved one / you lose track of dates, seasons and the passage of time?
6. Does your loved one / you have trouble following or joining a conversation?
7. Does your loved one / you tend to misplace things easily?
8. Does your loved one / you tend to get easily upset at home, at work, with friends or in places where they are out of their comfort zone?

Treatments that can help you or your loved one:

Neuropsychological Assessment

Counselling

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Family Therapy

Supportive Therapy

Medication (if needed)