Class 1 - Infectious Pathologies

Question 1

What are Nissl bodies, what are they important for?

Answer 1

they are pieces of rough endoplasmic reticulum which produces neurotransmitters

Question 2

Schwann cells are found in which part of the nervous system?

Answer 2

PNS

Question 3

Where are the cell bodies of afferent neurons found?

Answer 3

in the dorsal root ganglion of spinal nerve roots

Question 4

Where are the cell bodies of efferent neurons found?

Answer 4

in the ventral grey horn of the spinal cord

Question 5

Where are the cell bodies of interneurons found?

Answer 5

in the dorsal grey horn of the spinal cord

Question 6

Where do UMN’s synapse with LMN?

Answer 6

spinal cord

Question 7

Upper motor neuron damage can be identified by what characteristics?

Answer 7

hypertonic muscles, exaggerated reflexes, spastic muscle paralysis, presence of pathological reflexes

Question 8

Your patient has spastic muscle paralysis on the left side of their body. What might you suspect?

Answer 8

upper motor neuron damage in the right brain

Question 9

Your patient has atonic forearm muscles on the right side of their body. There is no ability for voluntary muscle contraction and reflexes cannot be triggered. What might you suspect?

Answer 9

lower motor neuron damage on the right side of the body/spinal cord

Question 10

Which type of meningitis takes the longest to develop?

Answer 10

fungal and tuberculosis meningitis

Question 11

What is the most serious/deadly form of meningitis?

Answer 11

bacterial

Question 12

What is Kernig’s sign?

Answer 12

if you flex the patient’s hip to 90 degrees and try to extend their knee, it will cause pain due to severe stiffness of the hamstrings

Question 13

What is Brudzinski’s sign?

Answer 13

flexing the patient’s neck causes flexion of the hips and knees as well

Question 14

What is the main cause of encephalitis?

Answer 14

2/3s of the time it cannot be determined

Question 15

Which viruses are most commonly associated with encephalitis?

Answer 15

West Nile, Herpes, St. Louis encephalitis, california virus, eastern/western equine encephalitis

Question 16

40% of cases of viral meningitis in people age 30-60 come from…

Answer 16

enteroviruses such as HSV-2, EBV, or childhood viruses like measles, rubella, CMV

Question 17

What is meningitis? What tissues does it affect?

Answer 17

inflammation of the meninges - can involve all 3 layers, and usually extends into 1st and 2nd layers of the cortex

Question 18

What are possible complications of meningitis?

Answer 18

infarction due to production of thrombosis of cortical veins

hydrocephalus due to scar tissue restricting CSF flow

seizures, coma, nerve palsies, deafness

Question 19

What has dramatically decreased the incidence of meningitis?

Answer 19

Hib vaccine

Question 20

What are possible causes of bacterial meningitis?

Answer 20

upper respiratory mucosal viruses (Hib, pneumococcus, group B strep, meningococcus)
E. coli or listeria from birth canal

for older adults: group B strep, Neisseria meningitides

Question 21

Where does bacterial meningitis usually originate?

Answer 21

in the subarachnoid space, before spreading to the brain

Question 22

At least one complication develops in how many of bacterial meningitis cases?

Answer 22

75%

Question 23

What is the mortality rate of meningitis?

Answer 23

5-25%

Question 24

What are possible complications of bacterial meningitis?

Answer 24

systemic CVS issues (40% of cases)
neuron damage
impairment of consciousness
seizures
focal neurological abnormalities

Question 25

Treatment for bacterial meningitis involves…

Answer 25

antibiotics ASAP and corticosteroids to reduce inflammation

Question 26

With encephalitis, herpes usually affects which lobe of the brain?

Answer 26

temporal

Question 27

Up to what percentage of people with WNV encephalitis end up with permanent brain damage?

Answer 27

20%

Question 28

Two most notable symptoms/signs West Nile Virus Encephalitis can result in…

Answer 28

Adenopathy and acute flaccid muscle paralysis

Question 29

WNV has a preference for which type of neurons?

Answer 29

thalamic

Question 30

“Myelitis” is…

Answer 30

Inflammation of the spinal cord

Question 31

“Ataxia” refers to

Answer 31

a loss of full control of bodily movements

Question 32

What percentage of neonates with herpes simplex infection will develop CNS disease?

Answer 32

50%

Question 33

What are prions?

Answer 33

smallest infectious disease-causing agent - abnormally folded protein that is self-replicating

Question 34

What is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease?

Answer 34

a fatal neurodegenerative disease thought to be caused by a prion

Question 35

How has iatrogenic transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy occured?

Answer 35

through corneal/dural transplants, deep cerebral electrodes, or using human pituitary hormones

Question 36

What causes brain abscess?

Answer 36

pyogenic bacterial infection, which is anaerobic in 50% of cases

Question 37

Symptoms of brain abscess are directly related to…

Answer 37

progressive increase of intracranial pressure

Question 38

Close to 50% of people with a brain abscess will be left with…

Answer 38

neurological ‘sequela’