Neurology7-11 Flashcards
Pathogenesis:
Tetrodotoxin (Pufferfish neurotoxin)
- Bind to voltage-gated sodium channels (nerve & cardiac tissue)
- Prevent sodium influx and depolarization
Clinical Manifestation:
Pufferfish poisoning
- Weakness, dizziness & parasthesia in face and extremities
- Reduced muscle strength
- Decreased deep-tendon reflexes
…after eating fish (maybe at a Japanese restaurant)
Treatment
Your patient is witnessed to have jerking movements of the right arm. She does not remember the episode, but her mother reports that she had “bizzare chewing and sucking moments”.
Treat with carbamazepine.
This is a complex partial seizure. The girl has a postictal state (“comples” loss or memory/lethargy) and only one area of her body is involved (“partial”). Carbamazepine can be used to treat: (1) simple partial (2) complex partial & (3) tonic-clonic seizures.
Clinical Manifestation:
Vitamin B deficiency
- loss of position and vibration sense
- ataxia
- spastic paresis
Myelopathy associated with vitamin B deficiency is often referred to as subacute combined degeneration. What does “combined” refer to?
degenerationfo both the ascending (dorsal column) and ddescending (corticospinal tract) pathways
Pathogenesis:
hearing loss due to prolonged exposure to loud noise
stereociliated hair cells in the organ of Corti become damaged
What is the most common extracranial neoplasm in children?
Neuroblastoma
Adrenal medulla tumor in children
Describe the axonal reaction.
- Neuron body is severed
- Large, round cells with peripherally located nuclei with finely dispersed granular Nissl substance can be seen.
Diagnosis:
Congo red staining of brain samples display patchy amyloid deposition in: (1) temporal cortex and hipposcampus & (2) cerebral arterioles
Alzheimer disesase
Amyloid in brain parenchyma=senile plaques
Amyloid in cerebral arterioles=amyloid angiopathy
What additional drug might you prescribe to a Parkinson patient, currently on levodopa/carbidopa, but still experiencing stiffness?
Entacapone
Entacapone is a COMT inhibitor it decreases peripheral metabolism of levodopa. Tolcapone is also a peripheral AND central COMT inhibitor, but it is hepatotoxic.
Why does the axonal reaction occur?
After an axon has been severed, protein synthesis must occur to facilitate the repair process.
Pathogenesis:
Diabetic neuropathy in arteries
- proteins become glycoslated (non-enzymatic)
- Glycosylation results in increased (1) thickness 92) hyalinization and (3) narrowing of the walls
- Ischemic nerve damage follows
These changes lead to diabetic microangiopathy of endoneural arterioles.
Pathogenesis:
Diabetic neuropathy in peripheral nerves
- Intracellular hyperglycemia occurs
- Accumulating glucose is converted inot sorbitol and fructose by aldose reductase
- Sorbitol increases the cellular osmolarity and leads to influx of water
- Osmotic damage to the axons and schwann cells occurs
Clinical Manifestation:
Vernet (jugular foramen) syndrome
Dysfunction of CN IX, X & XI
No taste from posterior 1/3 of tongue (9), Decreased parotid gland secretions (9), Loss of gag reflex (9, 10), Difficulty swallowing (9, 10), dysphonia/hoarseness (10), soft palate drop with uvula deviation towards normal side (10), weakness of the sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscle (11)
Diagnosis:
Patient exhibits involuntary flinging movements of one side of the body
Hemiballism
A lesion has occurred in the subthalamic nucleus (part of the basal ganglia). The lesion is contralateral to the symptomatic side.
Which cerebral artery results in (1) contralateral motor and sensory deficits of the lower extremities (2) behavior changes & (3) urinary incontinence
anterior cerebral artery
This artery supplies the medial portions of the 2 hemispheres.
Diagnosis:
MRI shows an intracranial calcified mass in a patient complaining of chronic headaches and visual changes
Craniopharyngioma
Clinical Manifestation:
Craniopharyngioma
- headaches
- growth failure
- bitemporal hemianopia
Difference between (1) True hydrocephalus and (2) Hydrocephalus ex vacuo
True hydrocephalus is associated with (1) ventricular enlargement and (2) Increased CSF pressure
Hydrocephalus ex vacuo is associated with (1) Ventricular enlargment and (2) cortical atrophy, BUT IT IS NOT CAUSED BY AN INCREASE IN CSF
Common neurological sequelae of advanced HIV infection
hydrocephalus ex vacuo secondary to cortical atrophy
compensatory ventricular expansion seen in advanced HIV infection
hydrocephalus ex vacuo (secondary to cortical atrophy)
Most common cause of hydrocephalus
obstruction in either the ventricles or arachnoid villi
Where is CSF produced?
choroid plexus
Where is CSF absorbed?
Granulations of the arachnoid matter
Where does CSF circulate?
CSF circulates in the ventricular system and the arachnoid space
Treatment:
Prevention of cerebral vasospasm in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)
Nimodipine (this is an alternative use!)
MA: Calcium channel blocker that prevents cerebral vascular spasm