Brain disease 2

Question 1

Pathology of alzheimers?

Answer 1

• Profound loss of neurons
• B-amyloid aggregation (plaques)
• Neurofibrillay tangles

Question 2

What causes an intracerebral haemotoma?

Answer 2

Damage of a blood vessel within the brain

Question 3

What are the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?

Answer 3

Additional to normal state

• Delusions
• Hallucinations
• Disordered thought and speech

Question 4

What are the negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

Answer 4

Absent from the normal state

• Alogia (illiogial thought)
• Anhedonia (not seeking pleasure)
• Asociality (unsociable)
• Avolition (don’t want to do things)

Question 5

Symptoms of alzheimers?

Answer 5

• Short-term memory loss

Progressive:

• Apathy (lack of interest/ enthusiasm)
• Confusion
• Mood swings
• Long-term memory loss
• Withdrawal
• Loss of control of bodily functions

Question 6

Risk factors of a stoke?

Answer 6

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• High fat diet
• Physical inactivity
• Drugs/ alcohol
• Smoking

Question 7

Developmental causes of schizophrenia?

Answer 7

Poor diet

Asphyxia (deprivation of oxygen)

Question 8

What is an ischaemic stroke caused by?

Answer 8

• Embolus - wandering clot
• Thrombus - locally formed clot
• Heart attack
• Venous thrombosis

Question 9

2 types of epilepsy?

Answer 9

1) Partial/focal - initially only affect one hemisphere

2) Generalised - affects the whole or large areas of the brain

Question 10

Social causes of schizophrenia?

Answer 10

• Environment, stressful relationships

Drug abuse:
Cannabis
Cocaine
Heroin

Question 11

Pathology of depression?

Answer 11

• Reduced hippocampal volume
• Vascular lesions
• Reduces brain-derives neurotrophic factor (BDNF) - helps to support suvival of neurons

Question 12

What causes a subarachnoid haemotoma?

Answer 12

Damage (eg. aneurysm) to a cerebral artery or vein - bleeding into the subarachnoid space

Question 13

What is a transient ischemic attack?

Answer 13

A syndrome of STROKE-LIKE symptoms which resolves within 24 hours

Question 14

What is a stroke?

Answer 14

• Neurological deficit of cerebrovascular cause that persists beyond 24 hours or is interrupted by death

Question 15

What are the effects of a stroke?

Answer 15

• Brain function ceases 60-90 seconds after event
• Irreversible brain damage if the event lasts >3 hours
• Neurological deficit related to site and extent of damage

Question 16

What is haemorrhagic stoke caused by?

Answer 16

• Entry of blood into CNS via rupture of blood vessel/sinus or an aneurysm
• Less blood supply more distally
• Blood into CNS can damage neurons

Question 17

Treatments for schizophrenia?

Answer 17

1) Antipsychotics
- More effective in treating positive symptoms

2) Psycotherapy
- Social support

Question 18

What are the 4 types of haematomas (solid swelling of clotted blood) in the brain?

Answer 18

1) Epidural
- Above dura

2) Subdural
- Between the dura mater and arachnoid layer

3) Subarachnoid
- In the subarachnoid space

4) Intracerebral
- Within the brain

Question 19

Symptoms of depression?

Answer 19

• Hyper/hyposomnia
• Reduces ability to concentrate
• Anhedonia (not looking for joy)
• Avolution (lack of interest/engagement)

Question 20

What is the pathology of schizophrenia?

Answer 20

Increases levels of dopamine in the mesolimbic pathway

Question 21

Incidence of schizophrenia?

Answer 21

Peak onset early 20s

Question 22

What causes a subdural haemotoma?

Answer 22

• Rapid movement of the head tearing the cerebral vein

- Compression of the brain

Question 23

Mesolimbic dopamine system?

Answer 23

• Frontal lobe
• Striatum
• Substansia nigra
• Ventral tegmentum area

Question 24

Genetic causes of schizophrenia?

Answer 24

50 % concordance in identical twins (DISC-1 abnormalities)

Question 25

What causes an epidural haemotoma?

Answer 25

Damage to the meningeal artery or dural venous sinus

eg. blow to the head