Lecture 11: Peripheral Neuropathy Part 2 Flashcards
What is Guillain Barre Syndrome?
Acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy resulting in symmetrical weakness and diminished reflexes
What breaks down myelin in GBS?
Antibodies
What are the two most common infections prior to GBS?
- Campylobacter jejuni
- CMV
What typically precipitates GBS?
Infectious illness in the weeks prior to onset.
What is the bimodal age range risk for GBS?
- 15-35
- 50-75
What is the MC variant of GBS?
Acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
What are the initial symptoms of GBS?
- Paresthesias moving proximally
- Pain with minimal movement
- Proximal muscle weakness of the LEs that ascends symmetrically
- Muscle weakness => paralysis
- ANS dysfunction (MC: tachycardia)
- Diminished/absent DTRs
- Impaired proprioception with normal sensory
What is the purpose of serologic studies in GBS?
Ruling out other DDx. They are normal in GBS
What would LP show for GBS?
- Albuminocytologic dissociation
- Elevated CSF protein with normal WBC count
- Commonly positive within 1 week of onset
What studies confirm GBS and when are findings most prominent?
Electrodiagnostic studies after 2 weeks post onset
What findings in a MRI brain/spine with gadolinium may be seen in GBS?
- Spine: Thickening and enhancement of intrathecal spine roots
- Brain: Enhancement of cranial nerve roots
- Highly sensitive but not specific
What is the managment for GBS?
- Hospitalize until plateau is achieved (12-28d)
- Serial bedside PFTs to check pulm muscle strength
- HTN: short acting BB (esmolol) or nitroprusside
- Hypotension via IV fluids and supine positioning
- Brady: atropine or pacemaker
- Tachy: rarely severe enough to treat
- Bowel sound assessments
- I&Os for urinary retention
- Immunotherapy: Plasmapheresis vs IVIG within 4 weeks
When is plasmapheresis or IVIG indicated in GBS management?
- Non-ambulatory patients
- Ambulatory patients that are not recovering within 4 weeks
Plasmapheresis is longer
How is initial pain controlled in GBS? Severe?
- Initial: NSAIDs, gabapentin, carbamazepine, amitriptyline
- Severe: Epidural Morphine
What therapists are recommended to help with GBS?
- PT/OT
- Speech therapy
What are the poor prognostic factors for GBS?
- Old
- Rapid onset < 1 week
- Severe muscle weakness on administration
- Need for vent
- Diarrheal illness
How common is full recovery for GBS?
2/3 in 1 year
What is myasthenia gravis?
Autoimmune disorder presenting with progressively reduced muscle strength with repeated use and recovery of muscle after a period of rest.
What pathophysiology characterizes myasthenia gravis?
- Antibodies destroy ACh receptors and postsynaptic folds.
- Over-release of ACh to compensate, resulting in reduced strength and increased rest time.
What are the primary antibodies associated with myasthenia gravis?
- anti-AChR antibodies (MC)
- Anti-MuSK (Muscle-specific tyrosine kinase)
What organ disease is MC associated with myasthenia gravis?
Thymic disease
What drugs are known to induce or exacerbate MG?
- ABX (aminoglycosides, polymyxins, cipro, erythro, and ampicillin)
- BBs
- Verapamil
- Mg
- Procainamide
- Quinidine
- Chloroquine
- Penicillamine
- Statins
- Prednisone
- Timolol (topical)
- Anticholinergics
- Lithium
- Neuromuscular blocking agents
When is MG MC in males and females?
- Females: 20-30 peak
- Males: 50-70 peak
How does infantile MG occur?
Myasthenic mothers with anti-AChR antibodies that transfer via placental IgG
Transient
How does muscle weakness look like in MG?
- Fluctuating skeletal muscle weakness
- Worse in the evening/exercise
- Improves with rest
What is the common initial presenting symptom in MG?
- Ptosis
- Diplopia
- Weak EOM testing
What is bulbar weakness?
- Weakness with prolonged chewing
- Dysphagia
- Dysarthria
- Dysphonia
CN IX-XII
What happens to facial muscles in MG?
- Flat affect
- Unable to produce a smile or complete closure of eyes
What happens to the neck in MG later in the day?
Dropped head syndrome due to weakness of extensor muscles.
Where does muscle weakness tend to present first in MG?
Proximal UE
Different from GBS, which is LE.
What is a myasthenic crisis?
- Weakness of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles
- Preceded by increasing generalized muscle weakness and bulbar muscle weakness
- Occurs spontaneously or precipitated by an event.
What is the progression of muscle weakness in MG?
- Eyes/face
- Neck
- UE
- Hands
- LE
Over 3 years
What is the ice-pack test?
- Ice-pack onto closed lid for 2 minutes
- Positive response (indicative of MG) would improve the ptosis.
What serology tests are used in the workup of MG?
- AChR antibodies prior to starting immune modulating therapy
- MuSK antibodies (positive => less likely to have thymic disease)
- Seronegative MG (Most likely a purely ocular disease)
- Anti-striated muscle Ab: MC in thymoma
What is a repetitive nerve stimulation study?
- Modified motor NCS to stimulate the neuromuscular junction of a specific muscle.
- Positive: smaller EPSPs
- Negative: Normal EPSPs generate an AP.
- MC used test for MG
What is a single-fiber electromyography? (SFEMG)
- More Sensitive test
- Records APs of two muscle fibers by the same axon.
- Positive: increased interval between 1st and 2nd AP
- NON-SPECIFIC
- CI: people who have had botox in the past 12 months
MG test
What are the 4 general treatment modalities for MG?
- Sympatomatic therapy via anticholinesterase inhibitors
- Chronic immunomodulators (Glucocorticoids + immunosuppressants)
- Rapid immunomodulators (Plasmapheresis + IVIG)
- Surgical therapy (Thymectomy)
What is the first line anticholinesterase inhibitor for MG and what are the administration instructions?
Pyridostigmine bromide dose before eating or prior to muscle fatiguing activities
When do you use high dose prednisone for MG?
- Hospitalized patients undergoing rapid immunomodulating therapy
- High doses inhibit neuromuscular function
When do we use the other immunomodulators in chronic immunomodulating therapy?
- Failure to control symptoms with just prednisone
- CI to corticosteroids
When is rapid immunomodulating therapy indicated in MG?
- Myasthenic crisis
- Pre-op in MG to prevent post-op crisis
- Bridging to chronic therapy
- Maintaining remission when refractory to other treatment
When is thymectomy indicated in MG?
- Thymoma
- Young patient with generalized MG or disabling ocular MG
How do you treat mild-mod generalized MG?
- Symptomatic therapy
- Chronic immunomodulating if it remains uncontrolled
How do you treat severe generalized or rapidly progressing MG?
Rapid immunomodulating therapy + chronic + symptomatic
Add on rapid for severe