Adult 2 Case Studies

(links to other case studies can be found at the bottom of this page.)

1. GORDON

Anne is living alone now in the home she shared with Gordon for forty years. Gordon and Anne met at college in their early twenties. After graduation Gordon became a teacher in the local grammar school. Anne too was a teacher but decided to stay at home after the birth of their first daughter and then their subsequent twin son and daughter.

When Gordon was in his early fifties he started to find it difficult to remember where he had put things and what his teaching commitments were for the next day. He went out one day and could not remember where the car was. He had to telephone Anne to ask where this was. At first they treated the memory problems as a joke but Gordon found it increasingly frustrating and Anne became quite cross at times.

Gordon eventually went to the GP who referred him to a specialist in Neurology who diagnosed early dementia.

Gordon continued to deteriorate and had to retire early. His memory declined so that he couldn't remember where his shirt was when getting dressed, he needed to be reminded to eat and was becoming more agitated. Eventually Anne found caring too much for him and he moved into a nursing home.

Gordon was not the only one in his family who had had this problem. Gordon's father had died in his early 60's after a dementing illness. His uncle had also died early in his 50's but nobody was sure from what. His older sister had also become mentally unwell in her early 50's. She lived in another part of the country to Gordon where she eventually died at 55 years of age. The neurologist thought that the dementia might be 'genetic' and referred Gordon to the Clinical Genetics Service

Anne and Gordon's children are very concerned about this. Emily, their oldest daughter has decided that she cannot take the risk of having children. However, Simon, her younger brother is in a serious relationship but he is worried about telling his partner about his family history because he feels that he is bound to have early dementia too. His twin sister already has one child and feels very guilty that she might have passed this on to her baby.

2. ELEANOR

Eleanor is a 65-year-old lady who undergoes regular dialysis within the renal dialysis unit. She is chatting to Anna, her primary nurse, and mentions that she also has a sister and a brother who have kidney cysts and another sister who also has regular dialysis. Her sisters and brother have been told that they have polycystic kidney disease. Anna knows that this is a hereditary condition and that screening and early detection can be beneficial for family members.

Eleanor tells Anna that she had a daughter who died in an accident in her late twenties. Their father and stepmother bought up her grandchildren. Her two granddaughters are now young adults and they see Anna on regular occasions. Anna asks if Eleanor knows if her granddaughters have ever been screened for polycystic kidney disease. Eleanor tells her that she didn’t think she could pass on this condition and in any case they seemed fine and it was a pity to worry them.