5CNSPathology Flashcards
Define Leptomeningitis
an inflammatory process that is localized to the interfacing surfaces of the pia and arachnoid, where CSF flows
Define Pachymeningitis
inflammation of the dura, usually a consequence of contiguous infection, such as chronic sinusitis or mastoiditis. The dura is a barrier to infection, and inflammation is restricted to its outer surface.
What causes bacterial meningitis?
The vast majority of meningitis cases are caused by suppurative bacteria and the organism relates to the patients age
List the bacterial meningitis organisms by age
- Neonates: E.coli and Group B Strept. Also Lesteria monocytogenes
- Infant: (3mo. to 3 yrs) H. influenza.
- Adult: Strept. pneumococcus.(gram pos diplococcus: purple on gram stain)
- Military barracks: N. meningitidis. (where people are crowded together, 35% of people harbor this in their sinuses w/o symptoms)
What is the most definitive diagnostic tool of bacterial meningitis?
Because most organisms initiate a purulent or suppurative response, the presence of PMN’s in the CSF is the most definitive diagnostic index of meningitis.
what does the presence of lymphocytes indicate when it comes to meningitis?
the hallmark of meningitis caused by tuberculosis, viral menigitides, and chronic fungal infections (Cryptococcal meningitis)
What give the arachnoid, the creamy gray or white color , over the convexities as well as the base of the brain in bacterial meningitis? where else can this color be observed?
The brain disclosing an exudate of PMNs and fibrin
Because the intracranial and intraspinal subarachnoid space are connected, the exudate passes freely between these compartments.
What prevents the spread of infection in the brain during bacterial meningitis?
The pia, although delicate, is an effective barrier against the spread of infection and generally prevents involvement of the underlying brain.
Describe the barrier made by H. influenza and its significance in bacterial meningitis.
H. influenza elicits a dense leukocytic exudate, which is rich in fibrin over the convexities. As a result, the exudate becomes loculated, creating a barrier to antibiotics.
What are the clinical signs of bacterial meningitis?
H/A, vomiting, and fever are common, and convulsions frequently occur in children. If untreated, coma and death.
What are the classic signs of bacterial meningitis?
cervical rigidity, head retraction, pain in the knee when the hip is flexed (Kernig sign), and spontaneous flexion of the knees and hips when the neck is flexed (Brudzinski sign).
Define parkinson disease
A neurologic disorder characterized pathologically by the loss of neurons in the Substantia Nigra and clinically by tremors at rest, muscular rigidity, expressionless face and emotional lability.
Parkinson disease epidemiology
Typically appears in the 6th to 8th decades of life, and more than 2% of the population in N. America eventually develop the disease.
Who develops Parkinson?
- No sex or racial diff are apparent
- Genetic factors do not play a role except for a rare autosomal dominant early onset form due to a point mutation of chromosome 4
- The vast majority of cases are idiopathic, but the disease has been recorded after viral encephalitis (von Economo encephalitis) and after the intake of a toxic chemical (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; MPTP)
What is the substantia nigra? What happens to it with age?
relays information to the basal ganglia through dopaminergic synapses. Normal aging is associated with a loss of neurons in the S.N. and a reduction in the dopamine content of that region.
Why is it suggested that parkinson is not an acceleration of normal age related changes?
Because there is a decrease in incidence in people over 80
accelerated process of the substantia nigra**
HIstory lesson: Parkinson disease
von Economo Encephalitis occurred during the influenza epidemic of 1916 to 1920, and resulted in injury to the substantia nigra.(gross loss of pigmentation)
-Depending on the extent of neuronal damage, the clinical expressions of “postencephalitic parkinsonism”were either immediate or delayed.
*people that died from the Spanish flu usually died due to pneumonia(staph aureus)
What does gross anatomy reveal with Parkinson disease?
a loss of pigmentation in the Substantia Nigra and Locus Ceruleus.
What do you find microscopically with Parkinson disease?
pigmented nuerons are scarce with small extracellular deposits of melanin, from necrotic neurons.
-Residual atrophic nerve cells contain spherical, granular,eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions called Lewy Bodies(displace the nucleus)
What does the midbrain look like?
Mickeymouse :)
What is the clinical presentation of Parkinson disease?
- Characterized by a slowness of all voluntary movements and a muscular rigidity throughout the entire range of movement, and most patients have a course tremor of the distal extremities. (pill-rolling)
- This tremor is present at rest and disappears with voluntary movement.
- The face is expressionless (mask-like) and a reduced rate of swallowing leads to drooling
- Hypertonia produces muscular rigidity referred to as “cog-wheel rigidity,” and spontaneous movement is diminished (akinesia). The posture is char. stooped
What do Parkinson’s patients have a higher incidence of?
Depression and dementia (they live a long time)
Levodopa and Parkinson
In early Parkinsonism, substitution therapy with Levodopa (Carbidopa, Sinemet) is beneficial.
-This therapy does not rectify the underlying disorder and with the passage of several years, becomes ineffective (refractory)
What are some other causes of Parkinson like symptoms?
- Drugs: Phenothiazines and Haldol
- CO or Manganese poisoning.
- Bilateral infarcts of Basal Ganglia
- Hydrocephalus
5 Tumors near the Basal Ganglia - Cerebral Trauma