Neurology Flashcards
The ratio between carotid area and vertebrobasilar stroke
4:1
Cerebral blood flow in the penumbra
10–20 ml/min/100 g brain tissue
Which mechanism plays an important role in the ischemic cascade?
calcium influx
Symptoms of vertebrobasilar insufficiency
Symptoms include:
- Vertigo (the most common symptom)
- Dizziness/syncope
- “Drop attacks:” Patient feels suddenly weak in the knees and fall.
- Diplopia/Loss of vision.
- Paresthesia.
- Confusion.
- Dysphagia/dysarthria.
- Headache.
Apraxia
Apraxia is a motor disorder caused by damage to the brain (specifically the posterior parietal cortex) in which the individual has difficulty with the motor planning to perform tasks or movements when asked, provided that the request or command is understood and the individual is willing to perform the task.
Typical symptoms of transient global amnesia
A) loss of anterograde memory
B) the patient is alert
C) shorter than 24 hours
gnostic disturbance
Gnostic dysfunction appear in lesions next to the primary sensory centers, supplied by the branches of the middle cerebral artery.
Thalamus-syndrome & thalamus-hand
This occurs as a consequence of the occlusion of the branches of the thalamogeniculate artery (branches of the posterior cerebral artery), when the ventral posteromedial and posterolateral thalamic nuclei are damaged.
Symptoms of anterior cerebral artery circulation disturbance
apathy, liberation reflexes, disturbance of attention, perseveration and echolalia
Weber-syndrome
- ipsilateral CN III palsy–> diplopia, ptosis, afferent pupillary defect
- contralateral hemiplegia or hemiparesis–> involvement of the corticospinal and/or corticobulbar tracts
- contralateral parkinsonian rigidity (only if substantia nigra involved) 5
Cause of pseudobulbar palsy
bilateral lesion of the corticobulbar fibers
Lateral superior pontine syndrome
- corticospinal tract: contralateral hemiplegia/hemiparesis
- spinothalamic tracts: contralateral loss of pain and temperature sensation
- cerebellar tracts: ipsilateral limb ataxia
facial nerve (CN VII) nucleus: ipsilateral facial paralysis - vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII) nuclei: ipsilateral hearing loss, vertigo and nystagmus
Hunt and Hess Scale
The Hunt and Hess scale describes the severity of subarachnoid hemorrhage resulting from the rupture of an intracerebral aneurysm and is used as a predictor of survival.
- grade 1–> asymptomatic or minimal headache and slight neck stiffness
70% survival - grade 2–> moderate to severe headache; neck stiffness; no neurologic deficit except cranial nerve palsy
60% survival - grade 3–>drowsy; minimal neurologic deficit
50% survival - grade 4–> stuporous; moderate to severe hemiparesis; possibly early decerebrate rigidity and vegetative disturbances
20% survival - grade 5–> deep coma; decerebrate rigidity; moribund
10% survival
Which artery’s aneurysm may cause unilateral oculomotor nerve palsy?
posterior communicating artery
postictal state
The postictal state is the altered state of consciousness after an epileptic seizure. It usually lasts between 5 and 30 minutes, but sometimes longer in the case of larger or more severe seizures, and is characterized by drowsiness, confusion, nausea, hypertension, headache or migraine, and other disorienting symptoms.
Ticlopidine side effects
Symptoms of acute toxicity were GI hemorrhage, convulsions, hypothermia, dyspnea, loss of equilibrium and abnormal gait.
Longterm side effects: neutropenia, aplastic anemia, thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura, and agranulocytosis.
When is the lower of the BP in acute ischemic stroke recommended?
If systolic blood pressure exceeds 190-200 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure exceeds 120 mmHg,
How can the functional status in patient with cerebrovascular disease be evaluated?
Barthel index
Mechanisms involved in regulation of cerebral blood circulation
1) neurogenic regulation
2) metabolic regulation
3) cerebral autoregulation
Non-modifiable risk factors for stroke
TIA, left ventricular hypertrophy, previous myocardial infarction, peripheral vascular disease, age, gender
Modifiable stroke risk factors
drug use, alcohol consumption, smoking, obesity
Mechanisms that play a role in coagulation
1) adhesion
2) aggregation
3) release reaction
4) platelet activation
Diaschisis
a sudden change of function in a portion of the brain connected to a distant, but damaged, brain area.
This may occur in the contralateral brain hemisphere and in the contralateral cerebellar hemisphere
Heubner arteritis
This is meningovascular syphilis is endarteritis with perivascular inflammation
medial medullary lesion
This is associated with clinical triad of ipsilateral hypoglossal palsy, contralateral hemiparesis, and contralateral lemniscal sensory loss. Variable manifestations may include isolated hemiparesis, tetraparesis, ipsilateral hemiparesis, I or C facial palsy, ataxia, vertigo, nystagmus, dysphagia.
Due to occlusion of the anterior spinal artery
Millard–Gubler syndrome
This is one of the classical brainstem-crossed syndromes caused due to a unilateral lesion in ventral pons, manifesting as ipsilateral palsy of CN VI and VII with contralateral hemiplegia
Symptoms of Gerstmann syndrome
1) left-right confusion
2) finger agnosia
3) acalculia
Causes of cerebral venous (sinus) thrombosis
1) use of oral contraceptive pills
2) purulent otitis or sinusitis (purulent middle ear infection, or purulent infection of paranasal sinuses)
3) postpartum septic state
typical for intracranial hemorrhage
1) appears mostly daytime, during physical activity
2) sudden onset, rapid, progressive disturbance of consciousness
Fogging phenomenon
This is explained by macrophage invasion, proliferation of capillaries, and sometimes extravasation of blood cells through damaged vessel walls
Indication of cerebral angiography
1) in urgent cases, when angiography helps in clinical decisions and treatments (e.g. subarachnoideal hemorrhage, local thrombolysis in acute large vessel occlusion)
2) to plan intra-arterial intervention like intraluminal angioplasty
Complications after stroke
1) depression–> seen in 20-50% of the cases
2) dementia –> Cognitive decline often appears in cerebrovascular diseases. The memory and the abstraction are mostly affected.
Neurological consequences after heart surgery
The most frequent complications are: amnesia, para-, hemi-, tetraparesis, cortical blindness, epileptic seizures, extrapyramidal symptoms, visual agnosia.
The frequency of myelon lesion is not rare, hypotonic paraparesis, sensory abnormality, urinary retention are characteristic
Which plaque type(s) is (are) considered as source of embolisation on B-mode ultrasound image?
1) exulcerated
2) haemorrhagic
3) heterogeneous
Therapy in secondary stroke prevention
1) 100-325 mg acetylsalicylic acid
2) 75 mg clopidogrel
3) 2x25 mg acetylsalicylic acid + 2x200 mg dipyridamole
Binswanger
Binswanger disease is a progressive neurological disorder caused by arteriosclerosis and thromboembolism affecting the blood vessels that supply the white-matter and deep structures of the brain
Does occlusion of the external carotid artery cause neurological symptoms?
NOPE
endocarditis lenta
Subacute bacterial endocarditis
The average duration of migrain attacks
4-72 hours