Dementia Case Study: Cluster A

Laura’s grandfather has begun having memory problems. First, he would constantly forget where he placed his keys or his wallet. Then he would have trouble remembering to pay the bills or cooking dinner. One day, Laura took him shopping, and in the middle of the trip, while they were both using the restroom, Laura’s grandpa left. Laura spent many hours searching for him in the shopping area, but to no avail, she could not find him. When she returned home, she found him sitting on the couch, and when she asked why he left her, he could not remember ever leaving the house for the shopping trip. As the days continued, the problems only accumulated, and communication became difficult as he failed to form words and coherent sentences. He could no longer …show more content…
If the patient already suffers from a personality disorder, the onset of dementia will serve to enhance or diminish the disorder. Patients in Cluster A have solitary/paranoid personality disorder. These patients tend to have an overwhelming tendency to be improperly suspicious of others. The personality traits of Cluster A were significantly associated with dementia’s symptoms of hallucinations, delusions, anxiety, and depression (Prior et al., 2016). Patients in Cluster C have avoidant/dependent personality disorder. In social situations, they face intense social discomfort and an irrational fear of negative evaluation. These patients also show a high level of timidity towards others and social situations. The Cluster C personality traits were more likely to be associated depression in those who also suffered from dementia (Prior et al., 2016). Overall, the abnormal premorbid personality traits particularly affected the expression of depression and other psychological symptoms in