Nervous system Flashcards
HSV encephalitis (CSF findings)
Lymphocytic pleocytosis
Elevated protein
Elevated RBCs
Normal glucose
Bacterial meningitis (CSF findings)
Neutrophilis pleocytosis
Elevated protein
Low glucose
Tuberculous meningitis (CSF findings)
Lymphocytic pleocytosis
Elevated protein
Very low glucose (e.g., 7)
Leading causes of brain metastases
Melanoma
Lung cancer
Breast cancer
Renal cell carcinoma
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Upper motor neuron signs + lower motor neuron signs
Preserved sensation
May have cognitive dysfunction
Usually >40 years old
Complex seizures
Involve loss of consciouness
Partial seziures
Seizure activity with a focal origin within the brain
Todd’s paralysis
Transient post-seizure neurologic symptom
Transient, focal weakness, usually affecting the appendages
Resolves within 48 hours
Most important prognostic factors for astrocytomas
Patient age
Functional status
Tumor grade
Gadolinium-enhanced brain MRI
Used to diagnose brain abscess
Brain abscess
- Microbiology
- Pathogenesis
- Clinical manifestations
- Treatment
Alzheimer disease
Early, insidious short-term memory loss
Language deficits and spatial disorientation
Later personality changes
Vascular dementia
Stepwise decline
Early executive dysfunction
Cerebral infarction &/or deep white matter changes on neuroimaging
Frontotemporal dementia
Early personality changes
Apathy, disinhibition & compulsive behavior
Frontotemporal atrophy on neuroimaging
Dementia with Lewy body
Visual hallucinations
Spontaneous parkinsonism
Fluctuating cognition
Normal-pressure hydrocephalus
Ataxia early in disease
Urinary incontinence
Dilated ventricles on neuroimaging
Prion disease
Behavioral changes
Rapid progression
Myoclonus &/or seizures
Cisplatin: Common adverse effects
Nephrotoxicity
Tinnitus and hearing loss
Electrolyte abnormalities
Severe nausea and vomiting
Neurotoxicity
Typical chemo regimens for non small-cell lung cancer
- cisplatin + etoposide + docitaxel
or
- carboplatin + paclitaxel
Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy
Progression from absence to myoclonic to generalized tonic-clonic seizures
Presents in teenage years
Occur upon awakening
Genetic basis
Symptoms can be worsened with sleep deprivation
Parkinson’s disease
Dementia
Falls
Festinating gait
Slowed speech
Resting hand tremor
Cogwheel rigidity on passive range of motion
Caused by a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra
CSF findings in Guillain-Barre Syndrome
Albuminocytologic dissociation:
- Elevated protein content
- Normal leukocyte count
Spinal Epidural Absess
- Causes
- Classic triad
- Treatment
- Concurrent distant infection, injection drug use, or spinal procedure
- Fever, back pain, neurologic manifestations
- Broad-spectrum antiobiotics and aspiration/surgical decompression
Treatment for epidural metastases
High-dose glucocorticoids
Botulism
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Descending bilateral paralysis beginning in the cranial nerves
- Equine anti-toxin
Kernig sign
Budzinsks sign
Both suggestive of meningeal irritation
Kernig sign: Inability to extend the knee >135 degrees when hip is flexed
Brudzinsks sign: Passive flexio of the neck results in flexion of the lower extremities
Migraine therapies
- Abortives
- Preventives
- Co-administration caution
Coadministration of a triptan and an ergot derivative or an additional triptan after a first dose may result in prolonged vasospasm due to overactivation of serotonin receptors, which can lead to severe elevations in blood pressure, myocardial infarction, or stroke.
Amarosis fugax
Painless, sudden and transient (<10 minutes) monocular vision loss
Retinal artery emboli originating from an ipsilateral carotid artery atherosclerotic plaque
Posterior uveitis
Painless vision loss and floaters
Produces choroidal infammation
Associated with systemic inflammatory disorders (IBS, ankylosing spondylitis) or infection (CMV)
Optic neuritis
Monocular vision loss over several weeks with painful eye movement
Afferent pupillary defect with optic disc swelling on fundoscopy
Often associated with MS
Temporal (giant cell) arteritis
Medium- to large-vessel vasculitis that affects adults age >50
Can present with monocular vision loss
Unilateral headache
Jaw claudication
Constitutional symptoms (e.g., fever, fatigue)
Polymyalgia rheumatica (proximal muscle weakness/pain)
Postictal vision loss
Can result formoccipital lobe seizures
Preceding visual aura marked by flashes of light and color
Uhthoff phenomenon
Feature of MS, where heat exposure may exacerbate symptoms
Post-traumatic syringomyelia
3-4% of patients with spinal cord injuries
Often caused by whiplash
Englargement of the central canal of the spinal cord due to CSF retention
Impaired strength, impaired pain/temperature sensation in upper extremities
Preservation of dorsal colume function (light touch, vibration, position sense)
Diagnose with MRI
Cervical spondylosis
Patients over 40
Results from disk degeneration
Neck pain and stiffness
May lead to spinal stenosis
Sudden infant death syndrome
- Risk factors
- Prevention
SIDS: Unexplained death before the age of 1
Risk is decreased with:
smoke avoidance
pacifier use
sleeping in the supine position with firm bedding
room-sharing without bed-sharing
Criteria for thrombolytics in stroke
- Inclusion criteria
- Strict exclusion criteria
- Relative exclusion criteria
Resting tremor
Low amplitude, low frequency (4-6 Hz) tremor that starts in one hand
Pill rolling tremor
Often presenting symptom of Parkinson’s disease
Parkinsonian tremors are more pronounced with distractibility
Tremors
- Essential
- Parkinson’s disease
- Cerebellar
- Physiologic
Essential tremor
Fine tremor
Suppressed at rest
Exacerbated at the end of goal-directed movements
Treatment for essential tremor
First line: Propranolol, especially if patient is hypertensive
Alternative medications: Primidone, topiramate