Neurology Flashcards
What is an upper motor neurone?
A neurone located entirely in the CNS. The cell body is located in the primary motor cortex.
What are the signs of UMN weakness?
- Spasticity
- Increased muscle tone
- Hyper-reflexia
- Minimal muscle atrophy
What are the causes of UMN weakness?
- MS
- Brain tumour
- Stroke
Heredity spastic paraplegia affects UMN’s
What are the signs of spastic paraplegia?
- Abnormal gait
- Bladder problems
- High arched feet
- Increased tone in legs and minimal muscle wasting
- Family history
How many people with alzheimer’s develop Parkinsonism?
25%
What are the symptoms of Alzheimers
- Selective attention
- Language impairments – difficulty in naming and understanding
- Apraxia
- Global deficits
What is the first cognitive marker of Alzheimer’s?
First cognitive marker is usually short term memory impairment
What are the histological signs of Alzheimers?
- Plaques of amyloid
2. Neuronal reduction
How is Alzheimer’s disease diagnosed?
When criteria (Braak Staging) for intermediate or high likelihood of AD is met and history of dementia
What is the stages in Braak staging?
- Stage ½ - low likelihood
- Stage ¾ - intermediate likelihood
- Stage 5/6 – low likelihood
What is the cause of sematic dementia?
symmetrical temporal lobe atrophy
What is functional memory dysfunction?
acquired dysfunction of memory that significantly affects a persons private/professional life in the absence of organic abuse.
How can you determine whether it is function memory or degenerative disease?
- Ask when was the last time your memory let you down
- Someone with dysfunction – good detailed answer
- Someone with degenerative – would struggle to answer
How is brain function assessed?
fMRI and PET scans
What is the treatment for Alzheimer’s?
- Ace inhibitors e.g. galantamine
- Supportive care
What is dementia?
A set of symptoms that include memory loss and difficulties when thinking, problem solving or language. A disease with a progressive decline in cognitive function
What is the epidemiology of dementia?
10% over 65 have dementia and 20% over 80 have it.
What are the causes of dementia?
- Alzheimers disease (65%)
- Fronto-temporal disease – frontal lobe atrophy on MRI
- Vascular
- Lewy body
- Vitamin deficiency e.g. B12
What are the symptoms of fronto-temporal dementia symptoms?
- Behaviour variants
- Language variants
- Often overlaps with MND
What other disease is dementia closely associated to?
MND
What is the function of the temporal lobe?
hearing, language comprehension, memory and emotion
What other disease affects the temporal lobe?
Alzheimer’s
What investigations would you pursue in suspected dementia?
- Good history of Symptoms
- 6CIT – 6 cognitive impairment items
- Blood tests –> b12 deficiency
- MRI
- Amyloid and tau histopathology
How do you prevent dementia?
- Stop smoking
- Healthy diet
- Regular exercise
- Healthy weight
- Low alcohol intake
What is the treatment for dementia?
Occupational therapy
Acetylcholine Esterase inhibitors
What is Spondylolisthesis?
Spillage of vertebra over the one below
What is Spondylosis?
degenerative disc disease
What is Myelopathy?
Spinal cord disease, UMN problem
What is radiculopathy?
Spinal nerve root disease, LMN problem
What is weakness?
impaired ability to move a body part in response to will
What is paralysis?
Ability to move a body part in response to will is completely lost.
What is ataxia?
willed movements are clumsy and uncontrolled
What is involuntary movements?
Spontaneous movement independent of will.
What is apraxia?
The ability to carry out familiar purposeful movements is lost in the absence of paralysis or other sensory/motor impairments
What type of inheritance has huntington’s disease got?
AD inheritance
What does huntingtons disease affect?
The striatum (caudate nucleus) of the basal ganglia.
What Neurotransmitter does HD affect?
GABA
What are the early signs of HD?
Irritability, depression and personality change
What are the late signs of HD?
chorea, psychiatric problems and dementia
How is dopamine produced?
Tyrosine –> l-dopa –> dopamine
What is the pathophysiology of PD?
- Loss of dopamine producing hormones in the substantia nigra
What does the substantia nigra project too?
Striatum.
What are the symptoms of PD?
- Bradykinesia – problems; doing up buttons, shuffle walking, writing smaller etc
- Rigidity – pain, problems turning in bed
- Resting tremor
- Postural instability
- Depression, psychiatric problems, dementia
Is the presentation of parkinson’s disease symmetrical?
No. It is asymmetrical with one side being worse than the other.
What is the treatment of Parkinson’s disease?
- L dopa
- Dopamine agonists – ropinirole, cabergoline
- COMT/MAO inhibitors – selegiline
What are the histopathological signs of Parkinsons disease?
Lewy bodies
Loss of dopaminergic neurones in the substantia nigra
What area of the brain does deep brain stimulation affect?
sub-thalamic nucleus
What is the treatment for essential tremor?
beta blockers, primidone
What are the 4 main stages of PD?
- Resting tremor
- Bradykinesia
- Postural istability
- Rigidty
What are the symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia?
- Unilateral face pain
- Pain commonly in V3 distribution
- Electric shock like shooting/sharp pain
How long does trigeminal neuralgia last?
a few seconds
What are the activities that make trigeminal neuralgia worse?
Washing your face, eating, shaving and talking
What is encephalitis?
Inflammation of the brain.
What are the symptoms of encephalitis?
- Fever
- Headache
- Lethargy
- Behavioural change
What would a lumbar puncture show in a patient with encephalitis?
- Lymphocytosis
- Raised protein
- Normal glucose
What viruses can cause encephalitis?
- Herpes simplex
- Varicella zoster
- HIV
What is the treatment for encephalitis?
Acyclovir
Who is encephalitis more common in?
The immunocompromised.
If a patient has aphasia which area is affected?
Broca’s area
If a patient has receptive dysphasia which area is affected?
Wernicke’s area
What are muscle spindles innervated by?
Gamma motor neurones
What is the function of muscle spindles?
Control muscle tone and tell you how much a muscle is stretched
What is the cause of pyramidal pattern of weakness in the upper limb?
The flexors are stronger than the extensors.
What is the cause of pyramidal pattern of weakness in the lower limb?
The extensors are stronger than the flexors.
What is the treatment for sciatica without neurological signs?
Conservative management and NSAIDs
What are the 4 signs of intra-cranial pressure rising?
- Papilloedema
- Focal neurological signs
- Loss of consciousness
- New onset seizures
What are the signs of normal pressure hydrocephalus?
- Magnetic gait
- Incontinence
- Dementia
What is used in the thrombolytic treatment of ischaemic stroke?
Altepase is used in ischaemic stroke –> converts plasminogen into plasmin so promotes breakdown of the clot.
How long can you do the thrombolysis on a stroke patient for after the onset of symptoms?
4.5 hours.
What condition presents with polyneuropathy?
GB syndrome.
What is the treatment for raised ICP?
Osmotic diuresis with mannitol
What is the most common cause of spinal cord compression?
Secondary malignancy from lung, breast, prostate and or kidney.
What are the symptoms of Rabies?
- Fever
- Anxiety
- Confusion
- Hydrophobia
- Hyperactivity
What is the cause of tetanus?
Clostridium tetani (gram pos anaerobe) causes tetanus
What are the symptoms of tetanus?
- Trismus (lockjaw)
- Sustained muscle contraction
- Facial muscle involvement
What is the cause of botulism?
Clostridium botulinum
What are the symptoms of botulism?
- Diplopia (Double vision)
- Dysphagia
- Peripheral weakness
What 3 Organisms can cause meningitis?
- N. meningitidis (G-ve diplococci)
- S. pneumoniae (g+ve cocci chain)
- Listeria monocytogenes (g+ve bacilli) –> shows as gram positive film
What are 3 organisms that can cause meningitis in children?
- E.coli (G-ve bacilli)
- Group B streptococci e.g. s.agalactiae
- Listeria monocytogenes –> shows as gram positive film
How would a listeria infection causing meningitis be treat?
Cefotaxime and amoxicillin
What are the symptoms of meningitis?
- Non blanching petechial rash
- Neck stiffness
- Headache
- Photophobia
- Papilloedema
- Fever
What investigations would you order if you suspected meningitis?
- Blood cultures
- Bloods – FBC, U+E, CRP, Serum glucose, lactate
- Lumbar puncture
- CT head
- Throat swabs
What is the management for meningitis?
- Treat with antibiotics –> Cefotaxime
- Cefotaxime + amoxicillin if L.monocytogenes infection
- Steroids to reduce inflammation in S.pneumoniae infection
What is the meningitis vaccine schedule?
- Meninigits B - 8-16 Weeks
- Meningitis C - 12 weeks and 1 year
- Meningitis ACWY - 14 years old
What prophylaxis is effective against N. meningitidis?
Ciprofloxacin
What is the most common cause of viral meningitis?
Enterovirus
What is the CSF like in bacterial meningitis?
Cloudy
What is the CSF like in someone with viral meningitis?
High lymphocytes, normal/high protein + normal glucose
What is the CSF like in someone with bacterial meningitis?
High neutrophils, protein and low glucose
What are the potential side affects of a lumbar puncture?
- Headache
- Damage to spinal cord
- Paraesthesia
- CSF leak
What investigations could you do on a CSF sample?
- Protein and glucose levels
- MCS
- Bacterial and Viral PCR
What is a LMN?
A neurone that carries signals to effectors. The cell body is in the brain stem or spinal cord.
What are the signs of LMN weakness?
- Flaccid
- Reduced muscle tone
- Hypo-reflexia
- Muscle atrophy
- Fasciculations
Where are the cell bodies of LMN found?
LMN cell bodies are found in the spinal cord or in the cranial nerve nuclei in the brainstem.
What investigations would you do if you suspected LMN issues?
- EMG
- MRI
- Muscle enzyme
- Lumbar puncture –> CSF
What diseases are associated with motor neuron damage?
- MN disease
- Spinal atrophy
- Poliomyelitis
- Spinal cord compression
What are 5 sites of damage along the final common pathway?
- Cranial nerve nuclei
- MN
- Spinal ventral roots
- Peripheral nerves
- NMJ –> cause of Myasthenia Gravis
- Muscles
What pathologies are associated with ventral spinal root damage?
- Tumours
- Prolapsed intervertebral disc
- Cervical/lumbar spondylosis
What are the signs of UMN damage?
- Motor cortex lesions
- Internal capsule
- Brainstem
- Spinal cord
What are the clinical patterns associated with Motor Neurone disease?
Muscular atrophy – anterior horn lesion –> LMN, fasciculations, weakness and wasting
Amytotrophic lateral sclerosis – loss of neurones in MC and anterior horn of the SC –> LMN and UMN signs –>
progressive spastic tetra-paresis
Progressive bulbar palsy –> destruction of Cn 9-12
What might someone with progressive bulbar palsy present with?
- Dysphagia
- Dysarthia (slurred speech)
- Wasting and fasciculations of the tongue
What is a long term consequence of ALS?
Progressive spastic tetraparesis
What are the onset limb symptoms of MND?
- Weakness/clumsiness
- Wasting of muscles
- Foot drop and tripping
What are the onset bulbar symptoms of MND?
- Dysarthria
- Slurred speech
- Dysphagia
- Wasting and fasciculation of tongue
What are the respiratory symptoms of MND?
- Dyspnoea
- Orthopnoea
- Poor sleep
What is treatment for MND?
Riluzole – inhibits glutamate release and slows disease progression
Ventilatory support
Feeding by a PEG
What is a TIA?
An acute loss of cerebral or ocular function with symptoms lasting <24hrs and with a complete clinical recovery.
What are the causes of a TIA?
Inadequate cerebral blood flow –> ischaemia or embolism
What is the use of the ABCD2 score?
Essential to assess their risk of having a stroke in the next 7 days
What is the ABCD2 score?
- Age >60
- BP –> 140/90
- Clinical features –> unilateral weakness/speech disturbance
- Duration
- Diabetes