Mary-Lou Case - Nursing Assignment Help

Assignment Task

CASE STUDY
Mary-Lou is a 75-year-old widow, who lost her husband to cancer over a year ago. Her family and friends have noticed that she has been very teary, has low self-esteem, and has lost interest in the things she used to love, such as going to bingo with her friends and gardening. Her family initially put this down to the loss of her husband and thought it would pass with time. However, they are now getting really concerned as they have noticed that Mary-Lou’s mood is not improving still. When asked by her daughter if she is sleeping well, she says she has been drinking wine every night to help her go to sleep because it makes her feel happy and relaxed. What started as one glass a night has now increased to two or three glasses a night, and she has also started drinking during the day. Her daughter has noticed that her mum’s face always appears flushed and that she has had quite a few colds lately. Mary-Lou is also losing her balance and experiencing mood swings. Her daughter is worried that she is relying too heavily on alcohol and fears that she is starting to get short-term memory loss from the alcohol consumption. She has been forgetting things such as
where she put her keys, whether she turned on the washing machine, and why she opened the fridge. Further, Mary-Lou tends to forget the topic of conversation when talking with her daughter on the phone and has also been getting disorientated and lost when she goes out on her daily walks. The other day, for example, a neighbor rang her daughter to tell her that she found Mary-Lou wandering around aimlessly, and when questioned what she was doing, Mary-Lou snapped and said she was trying to get home. Her daughter decided it was time to take Mary-Lou to the local GP to work out what was going on with her.
After listening to the signs and symptoms Mary-Lou was experiencing, the GP diagnosed her with depression and prescribed a SSRI to be taken daily. Based on the results of clinical and radiological assessments, the GP determined that she also had early onset Alzheimer’s disease. He prescribed a cholinesterase inhibitor and gave the family information on support groups and tips on what to do from here on in. He also prescribed a tranquiliser to be taken daily.

Question 1
Based on the description above
- Select/name one of the diseases/conditions Mary-Lou is suffering from and describe two signs and/or symptoms from Mary-Lou’s history that support your selection.
- Explain the pathophysiology of the condition you named

Question 2
Explain the mechanism of action of one drug type Mary-Lou is prescribed with and describe how these drug actions help mitigate some of her symptoms. In you answer, make references to the pathophysiology of the relevant disease and relate the chosen drug’s mechanism of action to the aetiology/pathogenesis of the disease. 

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