Integration II Flashcards
A 76-year-old man with a history of hypertension, diabetes, and smoking presents with sudden-onset of severe right face, arm, and leg weakness. The patient’s wife brings him to the emergency room within 3 hours of his symptoms. A CT scan of the head is normal. A CTA of the head and neck shows mild atherosclerosis of both carotid arteries but no vascular occlusion. Which of the following best describes initial steps in management of this patient based on the most likely diagnosis?
Allow blood pressure to autoregulate, prepare to give intravenous tPA
A 75-year-old woman develops sudden weakness and numbness of the left arm and left leg. On examination, she has a left pronator drift and 4 / 5 strength in the left arm and leg. Her left big toe goes upward when stroking the bottom of the foot. She has loss of sensation to both vibration and pinprick in her left arm and her left leg. Her right side is completely normal. A CT scan is performed in the emergency room and shows a faint hypodensity. Which of the following is the most likely explanation for her symptoms?
Ischemic stroke affecting the right internal capsule
A 58-year-old man wakes up in the post-anesthesia care unit after repair of a rupture abdominal aortic aneurysm. He cannot move either of his legs. On examination, he has no movement in either of his legs. He cannot feel pinprick through his abdomen or either leg, but he can identify whether his great toe is moving up or down and both sides. What testing would you perform first?
MRI of the cervical and thoracic spine
Remember! The nerves that innervate the feet are “lumbar” in origin and exit the spine in the lumbar region, BUT, their cell bodies are in the cervical and thoracic spine, and that is what we are interested in here.
Technically, prospopagnosia can be produced by. . .
. . . a lesion in either temporal lobe
Clostridium botulinum’s neurotoxin makes muscles ___.
Clostridium tetatni’s neurotoxin makes muscles ___.
Clostridium botulinum’s neurotoxin makes muscles flaccid.
Clostridium tetatni’s neurotoxin makes muscles tense.
Adult botulism course
- Classically contracted from undercooked smoked fish or home-canned vegetables
- Patients remain afebrile
- First develop bilateral cranial nerve palsies, commonly with diplopia and dysphagia
- This is followed by generalized muscle weakness
- Weakness progresses to sudden respiratory paralysis and death
- Patients must immediately be treated with antitoxin, as this only neutralizes unbound toxin. Intubation and ventilatory support is critical until respiratory muscles resume activity.
Infantile botulism course
- Classically acquired following ingestion of honey or corn syrup
- Prodrome of constipation
- Eventually develops generalized hypotonia
- Treated with supportive care in NICU and IV human botulism immunoglobulin
Tetanus course
- Classically acquired from puncture wound from object contaminated with spores (spores from feces or soil)
- Inhibition of inhibitory neurons causes diffuse, deregulated muscle contraction
- On clinical exam, this is characterized by risus sardonicus (uncomfortable looking “smile” from forced facial muscle contraction) and opisthotonus (posture caused by contraction of all back muscles)
- High mortality
Temporal lobe epilepsy
Type of focal epilepsy that can present more like acute, episodic anxiety. Always on the differential for panic disorder or agoraphobia.
Corticospinal tract at all layers of spine and brainstem
Anterolateral tract at all layers of spine and brainstem
Dorsal column tract/medial lemniscus at all layers of spine and brainstem
Identify the important midbrain regions
- Anterolateral tract also in green on original diagram
- Note that the trochlear nerve nucleus is just below this level in the same location as the occulomotor nucleus, but its nerve fibers decussate and exit posteriorly rather than staying ipsilateral and exiting anteriorly as the occulomotor nerve does.
Identify the important pontine structures
Major nerves entering/exiting the medulla
Identify the important medullary structures
Reflexes to test at each brainstem level
- Medulla: Gag reflex
- Pons: Corneal reflex
- Midbrain: Pupillary reflex
Which cranial nerve isn’t really a nerve, but we call it one anyway?
Cranial nerve II, the optic nerve
It is actually an extension of the brain itself: it does not have a nucleus, and its myelin is supplied by schwann cells (like the rest of the CNS), not oligodendrocytes (like the PNS).
This is why the optic nerve/tract are affected in MS, a central pathology, and why it is not affected in Gullian Barre despite most of the other cranial nerves being involved.
What differentiates tardive dyskinesia (acquired from long term antipsychotic use) from the dyskinesia of huntington’s?
Tardive dyskinesia tends to involve abnormal mouth movements, where as huntington’s or other hemiballismus is more limb based.
Patient with hx seizures describes that seizures onset with a “rising sensation” from the stomache and dejas vus
These are both common features of temporal lobe seizures, and likely correlate with mesial temporal sclerosis.
Psychiatric conditions with the highest risk for suicide
- Borderline personality disorder
- Schizophrenia spectrum disorders
- Anorexia nervosa
Passive death wish
Statements like “I wish I would go to sleep and not wake up”
Still an increased risk for suicide, but this does not count as suicidal ideation.
If someone screens + for suicidal ideation, you always have to ask about:
- Firearms
- Non-suicidal self injury
- Previous suicide attempts
-
Suicide plan (how to go about it)
- and associated Acts of Furtherance (buying a gun, drafting a will, writing a letter, etc)
- Suicidal intent (conviction that you will do it)
Quick, classic test for myasthenia gravis
If the patient has ptosis, put an ice pack on their eye for a couple minutes.
If they have myasthenia, it might just go away!
Very specific for myasthenia gravis.
PNS lesions tend to produce ___ more often than CNS lesions.
PNS lesions tend to produce positive symptoms more often than CNS lesions.
Ex, pain, tingling sensation
Mnemonic for cerebellar damage signs
-
DANISH
- Dysdiadikinesis
- Ataxia
- Nystagmus
- Intention tremor
- Slurred speech
- Hypotonia
Cavernous Sinus diagram
Location of the superior cervical ganglion