Neurodegenerative Disorders Flashcards
Give examples of neurodegenerative disorders
Alzheimer's Parkinson's Huntington's Frontal temporal dementia/picks CBGD Motor neuron disease PSP - progressive supra palsy
What are the main indications of neurodegenerative disorders ?
Loss of neurons in brain and spinal cord
Progressive symptoms
Irreversible symptoms
What is the most common neurodegenerative disorder ?
Alzheimer’s
Define dementia:
An acquired, persistent intellectual impairment involving at least 3 of these domains:
- language
- visuospatial skills
- emotion/personality
- memory
- cognitive/executive function s
It is a failure of higher brain functions
Why are the pathological markers of AD?
Cortical extracellular senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles
What are the pathological markers of PD?
Lewy bodies- intracellular
What are the pathological markers of PSP?
Subcortical neurofibrillary tangles
What are the pathological markers of CBGD?
Cortical and subcortical achromatic inclusion bodies
What are the pathological markers of Huntingtons disease ?
Selective loss or neurons and gliosis
What are the pathological markers of picks disease ?
Selective temporal lobe atrophy and picks bodies
What was PD first described as ?
Shaking palsy in 1817
What does PD cause ?
A kinetic rigid syndrome
- loss of movement
- increased muscle tone
Do patients normally die form PD and what are their life expectancies ?
No they normally die of a complication of the disease such as bronchopneumonia or bed sores
10-15 years but some people survive decades - the drug treat,net significantly prolongs life
What are the main symptoms of Parkinson disease ?
Tremor Rigidity Speech difficulty Postural changes Akinesia
What do Parkinson’s patients do to try and help initiate movements ?
Use visual cues such as a time on a clock
What are the pathological effects of Parkinson’s disease ?
Loss of neurons in substantia nigra
Lewy bodies - spherical eosinophilic inclusion bodies
It is the dopaminergic neurones that are affected
Loss of the excitatory and inhibitory nigro-striatal pathways
Affects midbrain nuclei
What are the causes of Parkinson’s disease ?
Unknown - idiopathic
What things have caused associated disorders of Parkinson’s disease ?
Drug induced - iatrogenic- dopamine antagonist
MPTP induced - contaminated amphetamines which kills off dopamine neurons in substantia nigra causing rapid onset of Parkinson’s disease
Post encephalitic- viral illness that triggers degeneration of nerve cells in substantia nigra
What happens to the pathways in Parkinson’s disease ?
Lose indirect and direct pathways so it reduces thalamic output causing a reduction in motor output
Describe huntingtons disease
Gradual onset Normal onset is 30-50 years - younger means it's more sever Progressive Inherited Death within 10-20 years Main symptoms are chores and dementia
What are the symptoms that lead to dementia in huntingtons disease ?
Irritability
Moodiness
Antisocial behaviour- aggressive, angry and unpleasant
What are th symptoms that lead to gross chore inform movements of huntingtons disease ?
Fidgeting
Restlessness
Gross choreiform movements cause over reaching and grasping things too tightly
Where are neurons lost in huntingtons disease?
Cerebral cortex
Corpus striatum
Which neurons are the first to be affected in huntingtons disease ?
Medium sized spiny neurons containing GABA and enkephalins
What happens to neurotransmitters in huntingtons disease ?
Decrease in GABA and its enzyme GAD
Decrease in ACh and its enzyme choline acetyl transferase
Either no change to dopamine or a slight increase