Suggest Treatment For Dementia And Face Swelling In An Elderly

Posted on Thu, 5 Oct 2017

Question: My father-in-law is 92 years old. He has profound dementia, living in an assisted living facility. For the last 2 years he has been in and out of hospice. Most recently removed from the hospice program because he gained weight. Yesterday, when I visited, it was noticeable that his face and neck appeared moonfaced and swollen. Also he has within the last week lost his eyebrows and lashes. My guess is that his body is shutting down. Although he is aware and conscious he is unresponsive to interaction but seems peaceful and comfortable. He is taking no meds at this time, only palliative/comfort care. Since we have been in this holding pattern for a considerable time, we're cautious of alerting family members again.

Answered by Dr. Olsi Taka (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Protein loss due to malnutrition or liver/kidney dysfunction likely

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to HealthcareMagic.

I read your question carefully but I am not sure what is your specific inquiry. You seem to be well aware about the fact that not much can be done to stop dementia at his stage and that eventually death will come from involvement to other organs, most commonly infections.
If you are wondering what the swelling and the loss of eyebrows/eyelashes means, the most likely hypothesis would be that it is due to malnutrition with low protein levels which can lead to such swelling. Kidney and liver conditions may also be responsible for it. Of course it needs to be confirmed through some blood tests, routine ones to check liver and kidney function, total protein and albumin levels. Those would enable a more accurate assessment.

I remain at your disposal for other questions.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar