Chapter 9 Nervous System Pathology Flashcards
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Idiopathic atrophy of neurons in the brain. Neurons are lost forever. Brain physically shrinks.
Is there a test to see if you have AD?
No test. Diagnose thru conversation and family’s experience/concerns
Characteristics of AD? (6)
Forgetting whole experiences
Cannot/rarely can recover memories
Sometimes has random bouts of temporary remembrances
Cannot follow written or oral directions
Unable to use notes as reminders
Gradually unable to care for oneself
Dementia
Precursor to AD or may not progress at all. Grey area between AD and normal aging.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
AKA Lou Gherig’s disease; degeneration of skeletal motor neurons while CNS remains normal. Idiopathic. Unpredictable with no target demographic.
Do nerves regenerate?
No. You have to build the skill again.
Bell’s Palsy
Hemiplegia of the face. Due to inflammation of cranial nerve 7; could be from a virus. Temporary- goes back to normal whenever. Lasting effects even after it goes away.
Cranial nerve 7
Cranial nerve that controls facial motor functions
Cerebral aneurysm
Localized ballooning of vessel in the brain due to weakened wall of blood vessel caused by fat plaque buildup.
Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA)
AKA stroke. Loss of blood supply to a portion of the brain due to burst of an aneurysm or a blocked artery.
Two types of CVAs?
Hemorrhagic stroke and ischemic stroke
Hemorrhagic stroke
ruptured aneurysm
Ischemic stroke
Artery is blocked
Coma
Brain turns off everything except vital functions. Way to heal/repair. Can be medically enduced
Concussion? What is a concussion also called?
Bruising/injury to the brain from sports/injury that causes different symptoms depending on which lobe is injured. Frontal and occipital is common. To heal, you have to sit in a dark room, no TV, no reading, etc. AKA TBI (Type of Brain Injury)
Epidural Hematoma (EDH)
Bleeding from trauma in between the dura mater and the skull. Can cause intracranial pressure to increase. Limited space causes brain to be ‘smooshed’ out of the way when lots of blood accumulates. Can also cause swelling. Drill holes or take off parts of skull to treat.
Epilepsy
Disease that causes seizures. Arrhythmia of the brain. Electrical impulses misfire and cause electrical signals to go everywhere, which causes a seizure. Is your brain resetting itself like how you shock the heart to reset it.
Gullain-Barre Syndrome (GB Syndrome)
Inflam. of the PNS post infection that causes progressive muscle weakness that may lead to paralysis. Can last up to 18 months. Not common, no tx.
Myelon
part of neuron that insulates and facilitates electrical impulses. Prevents loss of electrical impulses.
MS
Multiple sclerosis. Autoimmune that causes degen of myelin of neuron. PAINFUL, causes weakness, paralysis.
Parkinson’s Disease (PD)
Michael J. Fox has this. Idiopathic disease of brain that causes tremors. Not much treatments.
How are electrical impulses sent from neuron to neuron or muscle?
Electrical impulses are transmitted thru neurotransmitters. Turns from electrical to chemical. Is then absorbed by muscle and carried out.
What does myelin loss cause?
Causes some electrical impulses to get left behind. This makes the electrical impulse unreadable.
What is PD a disease of?
The synapse of the neuron. Specifically a disease of dopamine.
Examples of neurotransmitters?
Dopamine, serotonin
How are PD tremors caused?
Dopamine doesn’t get absorbed by muscle fiber and stays in synapse for too long. This tells the muscle to keep contracting, which is tremors.
Poliomyelitis (Polio)
Viral infection of nervous system that causes paralysis. Is basically eradicated current day.
Post polio syndrome
When you get the vaccine at a young age, you later on start to show very watered down signs of polio. This includes weakness, slight paralysis.
Seizure
From any type of brain trauma. Way for brain to call out for help or in pain. Basically any seizure not caused by epilepsy.
Shingles
Chicken pox (type of herpes). Viral infection that causes breakout along ribs. Reinfection of chicken pox in older people who had it as a child.
How is shingles treated?
Treat with antivirals. This take a long time to work.
Subdural Hematoma (SDH)
Like EDH but underneath the dura mater
Syncope
Fainting
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)
Warning to stroke. You feel weak but no pain. Like what angina is to MI.
Tremor
Rhythmic contractions of muscle as seen in PD
Development disorders? (3)
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Dyslexia
Anxiety disorders? (4)
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), Panic disorder (PD), Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Mood disorders? (5)
Bipolar, depression, Seasonal affective disorder, psychotic disorder, schizophrenia.
GAD
Generalized anxiety disorder. Excessive worry that can have physical symptoms like increased HR, chest pain, sweating, nausea, and headaches. When fight or flight response is on for longer than normal.
OCD
Obsessive compulsive disorder. Lots of repetition to feel more in control. From fear of loss control over external environment.
Panic disorder
Sudden reoccurring attacks that have physical symptoms. Can cause a heart attack as HR gets so high. Goes with GAD
PTSD
Post traumatic stress disorder. Based on a past trauma. Constantly reliving trauma in their mind. Same result. Discovered thru post-military. Can be caused by something as benign as a pet dying.
ADHD
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Can also be just ADD. Inability to focus on one task for long periods of time. Lack of impulse control. Treated thru behavior therapy.
ASD
Autism spectrum disorder. Inability to be able to connect socially. Difficulty communicating with people and following social norms.
Dyslexia
Trouble learning and recognizing written language.
Bipolar disorder
Alternating periods of mania with extreme sadness. barely any in between. Best treated with meds.
Mania
Extreme happiness
Depression
Extreme sadness for long periods of time. Must be treated when it is affecting lifestyle and life is more affected when sad than when happy.
SAD
Seasonal affective disorder. Depression that seasons affect. EX: more sunlight=happier, less sunlight=sad
Psychotic disorders
Loss of touch with reality. Hallucinations and delusions. Thinks delusions are real. Prevents normal lifestyle. Requires regular heavy dose of meds. Common among homeless.
Schizophrenia
Is a psychotic disorder. Psychotic disorders are split into multiple personalities.
