Neurology Flashcards
What questions should be asked prior to an MRI scan?
- Do you have a pacemaker inserted?
- Do you have any known shrapnel?
- Have you ever had brain surgery?
- Do you have any metal in your body that you know about?
What is a potential acute analgesia for a migraine?
Metaclopromide + diclofenac
What are some causes of seizures?
- epilepsy
- intercranial - space-occupying lesion
- meningitis/encephalitis
- alcohol withdrawal
- electrolyte abnormalities (low sodium, low calcium, low magnesium)
- drug overdose
- head injury
What do you give a patient in status epilepticus?
IV lorazepam 4mg STAT
OR
PR diazepam 10mg STAT (only really buccal in community)
You can repeat, if not working then start a phenytoin infusion
What do you see in LP in a patient with viral meningitis?
What about bacterial or fungal?
Viral - raised lymphocytes, normal glucose, normal protein
Bacterial - raised neutrophils, low glucose, high protein
Fungal - low glucose, lymphocytes, normal protein (TB same as fungal but may be monocytes)
What is your immediate management of a patient presenting with a TIA?
- Give aspirin 300mg immediately. If bleeding disorder or on anticoagulant then admit to exclude haemorrhage, if contraindicated seek specialist advice
How does subacute degeneration of the cord present?
Damage to the posterior columns – loss of proprioception, light touch and vibration sense (sensory ataxia and positive romberg’s)
Damage to the lateral columns – spastic weakness and upgoing plantars (UMN signs)
Damage to peripheral nerves – absent ankle and knee jerks (LMN signs)
A mix of UMN and LMN consider ACDC. Joint position and vibration sense is lost first, then distal paraesthesia
B12 needs replacing
What diet is supposed to be helpful in children with epilepsy?
Ketogenic diet - high fat, low carbohydrate
What are some non-epileptic causes of seizures?
Febrile convulsions
Alcohol withdrawal seizures
Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures
What are the three types of seizures?
Focal - start in one part of the brain, awareness varies, can divide into motor, non-motor
Generalised - involve both sides of the brain, LOC, divided into motor (tonic-clonic) and non-motor (abscence)
Unknown onset
What are the names of epilepsy recognised in children?
West’s Syndrome
Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome
Benign Rolandic EPilepsy
Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy
What are two classical features of epilepsy?
Urinary incontinence
Tongue biting
What groups of patients with epilepsy need extra information?
Drivers (must be seizure free for 1 year with established epilepsy, or 6 months if unprovoked single attack)
Woman - pregnant or trying to get pregnant
Contraception
What are two serum antibodies tested for in myasthenia gravis?
Anti-Acetylcholine-Receptor Anti-MuSc Receptor
Give 4 treatments for myasthenia gravis.
Anticholinesterases – pyridostigmine, Immunosuppressants – azathioprine, mycophenolate, thymectomy, plasmapheresis and IV immunoglobulin
What is the eventual cause of death in MND?
Respiratory failure
What are the 4 kinds of MND and their key features?
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Primary Lateral Sclerosis, Bulbar Onset, Progressive Muscular Atrophy
List 7 symptoms of MND?
Mixed UMN and LMN, no sensory deficit, leg weakness, arm weakness, trouble with buttons, urinary incontinence, wasting, fasciculations, nystagmus, dysarthria
What is the only medication licensed specifically for MND?
Riluzole
What supportive treatment exists for MND?
NG tube, pain management, mouth care, oral hygiene, baclofen for spasticity
What is affected in Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy?
Dystrophin protein in the muscles, used for structure, failure leads to cell and muscle death
What marker is raised in Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy?
Creatinine kinase
What is Gower’s Sign?
Inability to stand without using their hands to ‘walk up’
How is Duchenne inherited?
X-linked recessive, only occurs in males or females with turner’s syndrome
What are the symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis?
Fatiguability on repeated movements, ptosis, easily tired, proximal limb weakness
What investigations require doing and what do you find?
Antibody screen for Anti-MuSK and anti-AChR, EMG, tensillon test
How is it treated?
Pyridostigmine
Name 2 radiological areas of the brain where lesions are commonly found on MRI of a patient with multiple sclerosis.
Cortex, ventricles – there is focal inflammation and demyelination
Name 2 first line therapy agents used in MS.
Prednisolone, Beta-Interferon (to reduce relapse rate and in secondary progressive disease), Natalizumab (in severe relapsing and remitting disease)
Give 5 non-medical treatments for MS?
Physiotherapy for spasticity, intermittent self-catheterisation, support with fear and depression, advise on work and home alterations, infection treatment
Describe the lesions seen in a CT of the brain in a patient with MS?
Demyelinating plaques, discrete borders, elliptical, focal inflammation
What do you find in the CSF of patients with MS?
Oligoclonal bands
Raised cell count
What is an early sign of MS?
Optic neuritis
What is the most common cause of encephalitis in the UK?
Herpes Simplex Virus, other causes include varicella zoster virus, EBV, enteroviruses
What do you use to treat meningococcal sepsis?
Cefotaxime/Ceftriaxone
What is given in meningitis prophylaxis?
Ciprofloxacin
What might you see on LP in bacterial meningitis?
Raised WCC, reduced glucose, viral: raised glucose, raised WCC
When are the vaccines given to children?
Men B 2, 3, 4 months, Men ACWY 18 years, Men C, 18 months
Quadrad of Parkinsonian symptoms?
Rigidity
Bradykinesia
Slow, shuffling gait with reduced arm swing
Resting tremor (unilateral, improves with voluntary movement)
3 drugs that can be used for PD?
Levodopa, Carpadopa, Cabergoline, amantidine
What chromosome is the CAG triplet repeat found on in HD?
4
What is a typical pathological finding in PD?
Loss of dopamine producing neurons in the substantia nigra
What scan can be used for diagnosis?
DatSCAN, MRI
How is Parkinson’s Disease managed?
Dopamine precursors, Dopamine agonists
What are the 3 types of tremor and when do they occur?
Essential, Action, Resting
How does Huntington’s present?
Chorea, personality changes, dementia, nystagmus,
How is HD managed?
No cure, managed through support, family therapy, supportive treatment for symptoms
What is the genetic abnormality in HD and what does it result in?
CAG triple repeat, results in mistranslation of the Huntingtin’s Protein
What is the genetic abnormality in HD and what does it result in?
CAG triple repeat, results in mistranslation of the Huntingtin’s Protein
Where is Broca’s area located and what does it control?
Frontal lobe, dominant hemisphere, 95% and 60% left side, controls expression, Wernicke’s located in temporal lobe and deals with reception
What do Type A nerve fibres control/sense? What do the unmyelinated fibres deal with?
Type A are myelinated, control and sense sharp, immediate pain, large fibres, loss of them results in loss of vibration, touch and proprioception. Type C are unmyelinated small slow fibres that deal with dull prolonged pain.
What are the 5 signs of an UMN lesions? A LMN lesion?
UMN – hyperreflexia, upward plantars, increased tone, no muscle wasting, weakness. LMN: muscle wasting, decreased tone, hyporeflexia, fasciculations, weakness. UMN lesions present with pyramidal pattern of weakness (arm extensors, leg flexors)
What is the corticospinal tract?
Tract responsible for co-ordinated purposeful movement
Explain Brown-Sequard Syndrome?
This is a rare partial incomplete lesion of the spinal cord. There is ipsilateral loss of fine touch, proprioception, vibration and sensation below the level of the lesion (as the dorsal column tract decussated back in the medullary pyramids) and contralateral loss of pain and temperature about 3 vertebrae below the lesion. There is spastic paralysis below the lesion.
What do these neurological terms mean? Ataxia? Apraxia? Aphasia? Agnosia?
Ataxia – lack of co-ordination/balance, caused by lesions of the vermis
Apraxia – inability to perform conscious movement
Aphasia – complete absence of speech, dysphagia is partial
Agnosia – a change in a sense such as smell or vision
A sudden chance in neurology over a slow one indicates?
A sudden change indicates a vascular pathology while a slow one indicates inflammatory
What does white show on a CT scan?
White indicates blood (recent bleed, bone or calcium, grey indicates old bleeds
When should a CT be performed before a LP?
If there are any signs of raised intercranial pressure (papilloedema), >60, seizures, decreased GCS