Geriatric Medicine - Hong Kong Medical Consultants (HKMC)

Osteoarthritis

The elderly may experience both physical and psychological changes as they age. In addition to examinations, diagnosis and treatment, geriatrics also give suggestions for preventing diseases to promote their quality of life.

What is Osteoarthritis？

Due to years of strain, osteoarthritis may occur in knee joints, finger joints, etc., which not only causes pain, redness, hotness and stiffness, but may also lead to muscle atrophy and weakness.

Impact on Patients

Affects movement ability and self-care ability, joint pain, joint deformation, and decline in mental quality.

Control and Caring Methods

Degenerated joints cannot be restored, but proper caring and medication control can prevent further degeneration and relieve pain.

Geriatric Malnutrition

The elderly may experience both physical and psychological changes as they age. In addition to examinations, diagnosis and treatment, geriatrics also give suggestions for preventing diseases to promote their quality of life.

What is Geriatric Malnutrition？

Appetite, chewing and swallowing ability of many elderly people decline due to factors such as poor dental condition, insufficient muscle strength, degraded senses of taste and smell, and weakened digestive functions, leading to inadequate intake of calorie and nutrients.

Impact on Patients

Underweight, lower immunity, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, anemia, etc.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Medical professional assesses the causes of malnutrition in accordance with individual conditions and provide relevant dietary advice or medications for getting adequate nutrition.

Osteoporosis

The elderly may experience both physical and psychological changes as they age. In addition to examinations, diagnosis and treatment, geriatrics also give suggestions for preventing diseases to promote their quality of life.

What is Osteoporosis？

Osteoporosis is a metabolic disorder of bones with no symptoms, but causes the loss of bone density, which leads to fragile bone structure. The elderly and postmenopausal women are all at high risk.

Impact on Patients

Patients with osteoporosis may suffer from fractures and collapsed vertebrae, of which the fragility fracture can cause other problems or complications, and even death. Patients may also lose mobility and self-care ability, and suffer from complications such as pneumonia and pressure ulcers.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Dual-Emission X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA Scan) may commonly be used for diagnosis of osteoporosis. Medication and non-medication treatment must be applied for the confirmed osteoporosis.

Dementia

The elderly may experience both physical and psychological changes as they age. In addition to examinations, diagnosis and treatment, geriatrics also give suggestions for preventing diseases to promote their quality of life.

What is Dementia？

Factors like Alzheimer's disease and stroke may cause pathological changes in brain neurons, which affect and gradually lower brain functions and ability of patients in memory, understanding, calculation and judgement. In Hong Kong, about 30% to 40% of the elderly at the age of 80 or above suffer from symptoms of dementia.

Impact on Patients

Dementia reduces brain functions of the patient, leading to gradual loss of self-care ability, with effects divided into early, middle and late stages: - Early stage: poor recent memory, weakened elaborative faculty, but self-care ability remains; - Middle stage: emotional instability, day and night reversal, and need help from others for some complicated task in daily life; - Late stage: failure in recognizing relatives, loss of speaking ability and incapacity to take care of themselves.

Diagnosis of Dementia

Clinical examination, cognitive test, blood test, brain positron emission tomography, brain magnetic resonance imaging, etc.

Treatment of Dementia

No radical cure has yet to be discovered for dementia, but various treatments can slow down the memory loss and control emotional and behavioral problems, such as: - Medication: slows down damage of brain cells and controls emotional problems; - Non-pharmacological treatment: including reality orientation, cognitive training, multisensory stimulation, etc., to strengthen the remaining cognitive ability of the patient.

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