Prescribing for Older Adults

Some psychiatric disorders are more prevalent in older generations as compared to the younger generations. This is due to cerebral-neural degeneration. Often, these disorders are not recognized in good time and are thus not treated properly despite their prevalence. Mental disorders in general can lead to disability, suicide or even a poor quality of life. In this section, I will discuss one of the disorders from the DSM-5 that affect older adults.

Dementia

Dementia is a disorder that is characterized by inability to make sound decisions, think, or even remember crucial aspects that were easy to recall earlier on. Many people may think that dementia is a normal stage in the ageing process but it is not the case. The early signs of dementia include: forgetting to take a meal or even the process of making that meal, getting disoriented whereby the person suffering from this disorder tends to forget a certain pathway they used to pass etc. People with dementia may also have a problem with their judgment. For example, a farmer may lose the insight to establish what to plant during certain seasons. Dementia has also been associated with hallucinations and loss of balance.

There are many types of dementia, but the most common type that accounts for about 80% of cases is the Alzheimers disease. This disease has no cure but medications that help protect the brain are administered. Other forms of dementia include: mixed dementia, vascular dementia and frontal-temporal dementia. Dementia can be diagnosed by a health practitioner who would then go ahead to prescribe various methods of treatment and ways to manage the disorder. The Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNPs) considers some characteristics in dementia patients and determines an appropriate course of treatment. As a PMHNP, I would recommend FDA-approved drugs, non-FDA-approved drugs, and non-pharmacological interventions depending on the stage of the condition.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (2021), a drug new drug - aducanumab - was approved. The drug does not treat Alzheimers...…heart attack due to blockage of the heart. In a small percentage of patients, donepezil leads to weight loss with higher doses. Donepezil does not cure dementia but it helps improve the behavior of a patient by altering the progression of the disease.

Clinical Practice Guidelines for Dementia

There are clinical practice guidelines that exist for dementia. A good recommendation involves a situation whereby all individuals are best served by the recommended drug. For the FDA approved drug, the health practitioner should ensure that they conduct the basic dementia screen before administering the drug to the patient.

Before administering the donepezil drug to patients, health practitioners should first take into consideration a patients vitals. They should also be aware of the adverse effects associated with this drug, such as vomiting and heart blockage and advise the patient accordingly, especially on the side effects to be wary of. Administration of this medicine should be avoided if the effects are deemed too adverse.

Non-pharmacological approaches should be used if a person…