A previously lucid patient with early-stage Alzheimer’s dise…

A previously lucid patient with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease is hospitalized after a surgical procedure and exhibits distractibility and perceptual disturbances that occur only in the late afternoon. The patient has difficulty sleeping at night and instead sleeps much of the morning. What is the likely cause of these symptoms?

Mrs. Smith is a 47 year old perimenopausal female who is tak…

Mrs. Smith is a 47 year old perimenopausal female who is taking 20mg of prednisone daily for her asthma (and has been for 1 year), 112 mcg of Synthyroid daily, and 100 mg Dilantin TID. She is in the office today for her yearly “check-up”. She has no new complaints. Given her history and drug regimen, what is the most important disease to screen for at this time?

An elderly patient has symptoms of depression and the patien…

An elderly patient has symptoms of depression and the patient’s daughter asks about possible Alzheimer’s disease (AD) since there is a family history of this disease. A screening evaluation shows no memory loss. What is the initial step in managing this patient?