Confusion (from Latin Latin or sometimes Roman is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Although often considered a dead language, in view of the fact that it has no native, fluent speakers, Latin continues to be taught in schools and has been, and currently is, used in the process of new word production in modern languages from many confusĭo, -ōnis, noun of action from confundere "to pour together", also "to confuse") of a pathological In medicine, pathology is the study and diagnosis of disease. The related scientific study of disease processes is called "general pathology". Medical pathology is divided into two main branches, anatomical pathology and clinical pathology. Medical pathologists work through examination of organs, tissues, bodily fluids, and whole bodies degree usually refers to loss of orientation (ability to place oneself correctly in the world by time,[1] location,[1] and/or personal identity[1]) sometimes accompanied by disordered consciousness[1] and often memory (ability to correctly recall previous events or learn new material). Confusion as such is not synonymous with inability to focus attention, although severe inability to focus attention can cause, or greatly contribute to, confusion. Together, confusion and inability to focus attention (both of which affect judgment) are the twin symptoms of a loss or lack of normal brain function (mentation).[citation needed] The milder degrees of confusion as pathological symptoms are relative to previous function. Thus (for example) a mathematician confused about manipulation of simple fractions may be showing pathology which would not be diagnosable in a person without training in this area. Thus, as with the case of delirium, the minor degrees of pathological confusion cannot be diagnosed without knowledge of a person's "baseline", or normal, level of mental functioning.[citation needed]
Confusion may result from a relatively sudden brain dysfunction. Acute confusion is often called delirium Delirium is a common and severe neuropsychiatric syndrome with core features of acute onset and fluctuating course, attentional deficits and generalized severe disorganization of behavior. It typically involves other cognitive deficits, changes in arousal (hyperactive, hypoactive, or mixed), perceptual deficits, altered sleep-wake cycle, and (also called acute confusional state[2]), although delirium also includes a broader array of disorders than confusion, e.g. inability to focus attention and various impairments in awareness and temporal and spatial orientation.
Confusion may also result from chronic organic brain pathologies such as dementia Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging. It may be static, the result of a unique global brain injury, or progressive, resulting in long-term decline due to damage or disease in the body. Although dementia is far more common in the geriatric population, it. In either case, confusion is usually associated with some degree of loss of ability to focus attention, but (as noted) the association is not invariable, especially for lesser degrees of impairment.[citation needed]
Many health problems may cause the syndromes of delirium Delirium is a common and severe neuropsychiatric syndrome with core features of acute onset and fluctuating course, attentional deficits and generalized severe disorganization of behavior. It typically involves other cognitive deficits, changes in arousal (hyperactive, hypoactive, or mixed), perceptual deficits, altered sleep-wake cycle, and or dementia Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging. It may be static, the result of a unique global brain injury, or progressive, resulting in long-term decline due to damage or disease in the body. Although dementia is far more common in the geriatric population, it. These syndromes may also occur together, and both of them usually include the symptom of confusion. Since mental function is extremely sensitive to health, the appearance of either a new confused state, or a new loss of ability to focus attention (delirium), may indicate that a new physical or mental illness Illness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered a synonym for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist. Some have described illness as the subjective perception by a patient of an objectively defined disease has appeared, or that a chronic physical or mental illness has progressed (become more severe).[citation needed]
Signs and symptoms
Confusion is a symptom, and it may range from mild to severe. The confused state may include jumbled or disorganized thought Thoughts are forms conceived in the mind, rather than the forms perceived through the five senses. Thought and thinking are the processes by which these concepts are perceived and manipulated. Thinking allows beings to model the world and to represent it according to their objectives, plans, ends and desires. Similar concepts and processes include and unusual, bizarre, or aggressive In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause pain or harm. Predatory behavior between members of one species towards another species is also described as "aggression." To exhibit aggression towards members of another species is behaviors Behavior, or behaviour , refers to the actions of an organism or system, usually in relation to its environment, which includes the other organisms or systems around as well as the physical environment. It is the response of the organism or system to various stimuli or inputs, whether internal or external, conscious or subconscious, overt or. A person who is confused may have difficulty solving problems or tasks, especially those known to have been previously easy for the person and an inability to recognize family members or familiar objects, or to give approximate location of family members not present. As well, they may appear to be disoriented, drowsy, hyperactive, or anxious. In severe cases, the person may have hallucinations A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid, substantial, and located in external objective space. The, feelings of paranoia Paranoia is a thought process heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. Historically, this characterization was used to describe any delusional state, and a state of delirium Delirium is a common and severe neuropsychiatric syndrome with core features of acute onset and fluctuating course, attentional deficits and generalized severe disorganization of behavior. It typically involves other cognitive deficits, changes in arousal (hyperactive, hypoactive, or mixed), perceptual deficits, altered sleep-wake cycle, and.
Differential diagnosis
The most common causes of drug induced acute confusion are dopaminergic Dopaminergic means related to the neurotransmitter dopamine. For example, certain proteins such as the dopamine transporter , vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), and dopamine receptors can be classified as dopaminergic, and neurons which synthesize or contain dopamine and synapses with dopamine receptors in them may also be labeled as drugs used for Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs the sufferer's motor skills, speech, and other functions, diuretics A diuretic is any drug that elevates the rate of urination and thus provides a means of forced diuresis. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics increase the excretion of water from bodies, although each class does so in a distinct way, tricyclic Tricyclic antidepressants are heterocyclic chemical compounds used primarily as antidepressants. The TCAs were first discovered in the early 1950s and were subsequently introduced later in the decade. They are named after their chemical structure, which contains three rings of atoms. The tetracyclic antidepressants (TeCAs), which contain four or tetracyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepines A benzodiazepine is a psychoactive drug whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. The first benzodiazepine, chlordiazepoxide (Librium), was discovered accidentally by Leo Sternbach in 1955, and made available in 1960 by Hoffmann–La Roche, which has also marketed diazepam (Valium) since 1963. The elderly and especially those with pre-existing dementia are at most risk for drug induced acute confusional states.[3]
New research is finding a link between Vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids, the two major physiologically relevant forms of which are vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Vitamin D without a subscript refers to either D2 or D3 or both. Vitamin D3 is produced in the skin of vertebrates after exposure to ultraviolet B light from the sun or artificial sources, and deficiencies and cognitive impairment Cognitive dysfunction is defined as unusually poor mental function, associated with confusion, forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating. A number of medical or psychiatric conditions and treatments can cause such symptoms, including Heavy metal poisoning (in particular mercury poisoning), menopause, fibromyalgia and sleep disorders (including which includes memory loss Memory loss can be partial or total and it is normal when it comes with aging. Sudden memory loss is usually a result of brain trauma and it may be permanent or temporary. When it is caused by medical conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, the memory loss is gradual and tends to be permanent. Otherwise the condition is temporary and only affects and a foggy brain.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d thefreedictionary.com > confusion (redirected from mental confusion) Citing: Dorland's Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers. 2007 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc.
- ^ patient.co.uk > Acute Confusional State Writer: Dr Gurvinder Rull. Document ID: 1714. Document Version: 22. Document Reference: bgp2104. Last Updated: 13 Jan 2009
- ^ Hufschmidt, A.; Shabarin, V.; Zimmer, T. (Dec 2009). "Drug-induced confusional states: the usual suspects?". Acta Neurol Scand 120 (6): 436–8. doi A digital object identifier is a character string used to uniquely identify an electronic document or other object. Metadata about the object is stored in association with the DOI name and this metadata may include a location, such as a URL, where the object can be found. The DOI for a document is permanent, whereas its location and other metadata:10.1111/j.1600-0404.2009.01174.x. PMID A PMID is a unique number assigned to each PubMed citation of life sciences and biomedical scientific journal articles. The related Pubmed Central archive may additionally assign a separate number, a PMCID (PubMed Central Identifier), normally written with a PMC prefix 19804475.
- ^ Third Age Vitamin D Deficiency
External links
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