Degenerative Diseases Flashcards
what has been established re: inheritance in Alzheimer disease
familial occurrence <1 percent there is a dominant inheritance pattern with a high degree of penetrance and appearance of disease at a younger age
T/F Women in general are at slightly higher risk for AD
True p1064
major symptom in AD
gradual development of forgetfulness
Ribot law of memory
Remote memories are preserved and recent ones lost. this is only relatively true.
repetition of every spoken phrase
echolalia
in AD, most prominent finding visible on MRI
extreme atrophy of hippocampus p1067
Microspcopic findings in AD
widespread loss of nerve cells
Early: most pronounced in layer II of entorhinal cortex marked neuronal loss in hippocampus, affected also are parahippocampal gyri, subiculum
other parts affected: anterior nuclei of thalamus, septal nuclei, diagonal band of Broca, amygdala, brainstem parts of the monoaminergic systems
cholinergic neurons of nucleus basalis of Meynert (substantia innominata) and locus ceruleus are reduced in number cerebral cortex:
cell loss affects pyramidal neurons
astrocytic hypertrophy which is compensatory prominent in layers III and V
3 Microscopic changes that make AD distinct
- neurofibrillary tangles - presence within the nerve cell cytoplasm of thick, fiber-like strands of silver-staining material, also in the form of loops, coils or tangled masses
- neuritic plaques - spherical deposits of amorphous material scattered through the cerebral cortex and easily seen with Periodic acid-Schiff
the core of aggregates is amyloiud, surrounded by degenerating nerve terminals
- Granulovacuolar degeneration of neurons most evident in the pyramidal layer of hippocampus
a discrete cytoskeletal protein, made of B2 transferrin, that promotoes assembly of microtubules, stabilizes their structure, and participates in synaptic plasticity
Tau
Conditions wherein there is aggregation of Tau
Alzheimer Disease
PSP
FTD
Picks
CBD
It is believed that the cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein by the B and gamma secretase results in 40- and 42-amino-acid by products. Which of these two forms is toxic?
AB42
the ratio of AB42 to AB40 is critical to neuronal toxicity of amyloid
True or False
The ratio of AB42 to AB40 is increased in Down syndrome.
True
genes encoding for endosomal proteins which are also implicated in Alzheimer
presenilin 1 and 2
the presenilins interact or maybe a component of gamma secretase, the enzyme that produces the AB42 fragment
Mutations of the APP and presenilin genes explain a very small proportion of Alzheimer cases
protein product from an inadequate functioning progranulin gener, deposited in neurons and may play a substantial role in the severity of expression of AD
this protein has been implicated in the pathogenesis of FTD and motor neuron disease
TDP-43
True or False
Studies showed that the presence of cerebral infarctions, small or large, and nondescript ischemic white matter disease accelerates the deposition of amyloid and the development of neurofibrillary tangles in the brains of AD patients.
True
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Neurotransmitter abnormality in AD
reduction in choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and acetycholine in the hippocampus and neocortex
loss of cholinergic synthetic capacity was attributed to a reduction in the number of cells in the basal forebrain nuclei (mainly the nucleus basalis of Meynert) from which the majorportion of neocortical cholinergic terminals originate
50% reduction in ChAT activity has been found in caudate nucleus
Mutations and Modulating factors associated with AD
APP - amyloid precursor protein bound to neuronal membranes
presenilin 1 and 2 - endosomal proteins
ApoE - regulator of lipid metabolism that has an affinity for AB alzheimer plaques; presence of E4 is associated with tripling the risk of developing sporadic AD (not a mendelian trait but a susceptibility risk
TREM2 - TREM2 polymorphism causes inadequate phagocytic clearance of amyloid
UBQLN1 - ubiquilin1 - interacts with PS1 and PS2 and participates in proteasomal degrradation
Coronal MRI, EEG in AD shows
disproportionate atrophy of hippocampi and corresponding enlargement of temporal horns of lateral ventricles
EEG: mild diffuse slowing (late in the illness)
SPECT and PET scan in AD
diminished activity in the parietal association regions and the medial temporal lobes
ratio of AB42 to tau in CSF in Alzheimer
Low
medications for Alzheimer
donepezil - acetylcholinesterase inhibitor for mild to moderately affected patients
SE: nausea, vomiting, insomnia, incraesed confusion
Memantine - NMDA glutaminergic antagonist- for use in the late-stage AD
True or False
The combination of memantine and donepezil in moderately to severely affected patients offered modest benefit over either drug alone.
FALSE
NO BENEFIT
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a variant of lobar atrophy presenting with behavioral changes - apathy, disinhibition, perseveration, poor judgment, limited ability for abstraction, loss of empathy, bizarre affect, eating disorders
Insight is impaired, some subjects become euphoric or display repetitive compulsive behaviors
MRI: disproportionate atrophy and hypofunction in the frontal lobes usually asymmetric
a proportion presents with parkinsonian features
many cases shows deposition of progranulin consisting of ubiquitin neuronal inclusion consisting of TDP-43
Behavioral Variant of FTLD
Types of Primary Progressive Aphasia
progressive nonfluent - initially speaks less and has word finding difficulty, language stucture is intact
semantic - difficulty naming items, people and words followed by verbal perseveration; difficulty in generating lists of words of a given category
logophenic - shares most aspects of nonfluent aphasia but the meaning of words is retained
variant of lobar degenertaion with progressive loss of the ability to understand and use visual information
-progressive and ultimately severe visuospatial difficulty with a relative preservation of memory
Prosopagnosia, achromatopsia, dyslexia
difficulty with depth perception, reaching for objects and an inordinate sensitivity to bright light
Posterior Cortical Atrophy
defined by diffuse involvement of cortical neurons with Lewy-body inclusions and by an absence or inconspicuous number of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques
aggregated a-synuclein
typical form: parkinsonian features, dementia and a tendency to episodic delirium, especially nocturnally, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder
Lewy-body dementia
Diffuse Lewy-body Disease
Diagnostic Criteria for Lewy-body Dementia
requires 2 of 3 of the following:
- parkinsonian syndrome (usually symmetric)
- fluctuations in behavior and cognition
- recurrent hallucinations
psychotic features in LBD
episodic confusion, hallucinations, paranoid delusions
True or False
In LBD, the parkinsonian features may respond favorably to L-Dopa but only for a limited time and sometimes at the expense of causing an agitated delirum or hallucinations, uncharacteristic of early PD.
True
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medication for LBD helps reduce delusions, hallucination and anxiety
Rivastigmine, anticholinesterase inhibitor
distinguished by the triad: dominant inheritance, choreoathetosis, dementia
Huntington Disease
True or False
The length of the nucleotide repeats CAG in Huntington determines not only the presence of the disease but also the age of onset wherein longer repeat length is associated with an earlier appearance of signs.
True
p 1077
CAG codon codes for what amino acid
glutamine
rare alternative mutation for Huntington
termed HDL2 (huntington diseae like-2) is associated with what repeat expansion of what gene
CATCG
juntophilin-3-gene
True or False
The first symptoms to appear in half the cases of Huntington are alterations in personality.
true
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True or False
The dementia in Hutington Disease is described as subcortical dementia, that is, the elements of aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia are observed only rarely and meomry loss is not profound.
true
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Huntington
The abnormality of movement is subtle at first and most evident in the leg.
False
evident in the hands and face
Slowness of movementof the fingers and hands, reduced rate of finger tapping, difficulty in performing a sequence of hand movements are early signs.
True or False
As in parkinsonism, the frequency of blinking in Huntington is decreased.
False
Blinking is increased!
p1077
and voluntary protrusion of the tongue, like other attempt at sustained posture is constantly interrupted by unwanted darting movements
In huntington, about how many years in which most patients deteriorate to a vegetative state
10-15 years of ymptoms
True or False
Suicidal rate in Huntington is high.
True
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True or False
Huntington. The dementia is generally more severe in cases of early (15-40) onset and with correspondingly longer repeat lengths than in those of later onset (55-60).
True
p1077
Pathology in Huntington
gross atrophy of the bilateral caudate nuclei and putamen is characteristic
moderate degree of gyral atrophy in the frontal and temporal regions
PET findings in Huntington
low glucose metabolism in the caudate nuclei
which precedes the volumetric loss of tissue. The striatal degeneration begins in the medial part of the caudate nucleus and spreads, tending to spare the nucleus accumbens.
True or False
Huntington. The anterior parts of the putamen and caudate are more affected than the posterior parts.
True
p1078
in the cerebral cortex there is a slight neuronal loss in layers 3,5,6 with replacement gliosis
Anticipation is well described in huntington and is known to be attributable to increasing lengths of CAG repeat sequence. What is anticipation?
earlier onset of disease in successive generations
Huntington.
where does huntingtin protein accumulate
striatum and affected cortex
drugs that can occasionally cause chorea
amphetamines
cocaine
tricyclic antidepressants
lithium
isoniazid
linezolid
Treatment for huntington
haloperidol - dopamine antagonist - in dialy doses of 2-10mg
effective partially in suppressing movement disorder
other drugs that deplete dopamine or block dopamine receptors which suppress the chorea in huntington to some degree but their side effctes (drowsiness, akathisia, tardive dyskinesia) outweigh their desired effects
reserpine, clozapine, tetrabenazine
disease has been linked to chromosome 9q
there is mutation in gene encoding protein chorein - involved in cellular protein sorting and trafficking
atrophy and gliosis of caudate nuclei BUT NO NEURONAL LOSS
neuroacanthocytosis
2 categories
- defect in red cell lipid membrane (bassen-Kornzweig disease) and HARP hypobetalipoproteinemia, acanthocytosis, retinitis pigmentosa, pallidal degeneration
- second group that lacks lipid abnormality
disorder with acanthocytosis and gradual development of chorea in the middle to late life, degeneration of caudate and putamen
with myopathy (elevated CPK)
fewer facial tic and orofacial features
arise from mutations on the X-chromosome that encodes KX protein which binds to surface Kell antigens on red cells
diminished kell antigen expression on the red-cell surface
McLeod Disease
tetrad of hypo/bradykinesia, resting tremor, postural instability, rigidity
Parkinson Disease
True or False
Volitional movememt dampens the resting tremor momentarily.
True
p1083
True or False
Tremor in PD is aggravated by walking and excitement.
True
p1083
pill-rolling tremor frequency
4-per second
axial dystonia in PD
extreme forward flexion of the spine, severe stooping occurs
camptocormia
kinesis paradoxica
in PD, in the excitement of some unusual circumstance, e.g. escapinf from fire, the paient with all but advanced disease is capable of bried but remarkably effective movement
Myerson sign
inability to inhibit blinkingin response to a tap over the bridge of nose or glabella
dyskinesias after treatment with levodopa usually appears when?
3-5 years of treatmentwith levodopa
In parkinsons, how many fail to display the characteristic tremor? not responsive to L-dopa?
25% for tremor
10% do not respond to L-dopa
most constant and pertinent finding in idiopathic and postencephalitic PD
loss of pigmented cells in substantia nigra and other pigmented nuclei (locus ceruleus, dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus
Rate limiting enzyme for the synthesis of dopamine
Tyrosine hydroxylase
True or False
PD. The earliest changes in the brain occur in the dorsal glossopharyngeal-vagal and anterior olfactory nuclei.
True
p1086
neurotoxin which produces irreversible signs of parkinsonism and selective destruction of cells in the subtantia nigra
analogue of meperidine
MPTP
1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine transformed by monoamine oxidase to a toxic metabolite pyridinium MPP