CASE STUDY: Read and answer questions on the following case study.
Mr. Science
Mr. Science is a 61 year old science teacher who became very fearful during the first semester of the new academic year. Over the next few months he lost interest in his hobbies, stopped reading and had difficulty doing computations or taking care of his finances. He even got lost driving to his school one morning. He began writing notes to himself to avoid forgetting things. Abruptly he retired from work and did not even consult his wife. He became stubborn and irritable and needed help in shaving and dressing. When he was examined 6 years after the first symptoms developed, he was alert, cooperative, but disoriented to time. He could not recall the names of 4 or 5 objects after 5 minutes and was unable to remember his college, his major and thought that Kennedy was president in 1978. His speech was fluent, but he had word finding problems. He called a cup a vase and the rims of glasses as “holders.” He did math poorly and could not copy a cube or draw a house. His interpretations of proverbs were concrete and had no insight into his problems. Lab tests were all negative. CAT scan showed cortical atrophy.
Questions:
1. What is his diagnosis?
2. What are the symptoms that helped you make this diagnosis? What diagnostic criteria do they relate to?
3. What are two other possible diagnoses and why did you not choose them?
4. What kinds of psychological interventions would be appropriate in this case?
5. What is his prognosis?
