Neuropathology Flashcards
What is the axonal reaction?
A reaction within the cell body that is associated with axonal injury
What type of gliial cells are most associated with a reaction to neuronal injury?
Astrocytes
What cellular process is the most important histopathological indicator of CNS injury?
Gliosis (Hyperplasia and Hypertrophy of the astrocytes)
With these symptoms what artery is blocked:
- Frontal lobe dysfunction
- Contralateral sensory loss in foot & leg
- Paresis of arm & foot, relative sparing of thigh & face
Anterior cerebral
Where is the most common place in the brain to see chronic multiple sclerosis plaques?
Around the lateral ventricles
On autopsy of a patient with MS you see a yellow plaque will an ill defined edge. Was this an acute or chronic MS plaque?
Acute
On autopsy of a patient with MS you see well defined brown lesion in the white matter. Was this an acute or chronic MS plaque?
Chronic
In what parts of the brain do you see macroscopic changes in dementia? And which parts are spared?
- Frontal, parietal and temporal lobes affected
- Brainstem and cerebellum normal
List the macroscopic changes seen in a brain with dementia
- Cortical atrophy (decreased size and weight of the brain)
- Widening of sulci
- Narrowing of gyri
- Ventricular dilatation
(in frontal, temporal and parietal lobes)
What microscopic changes do you see in the brain of a patient with dementia?
Intracytoplasmic neurofibrillary tangles
Beta amyloid plaques
Amyloid angiopathy
Extensive neuronal loss with astrocytosis
What type of cells make up amyloid?
Eosinophils
What makes up the neurofibrillary tangles?
Tau protein
What are the pathological findings on brain autopsy in lewy body dementia?
- Degeneration of the substantia nigra
- Lewey bodies in remaining nerve cells
- Cortical degeneration as seen in alzheimers
If you are looking for lewy bodies on autopsy what protein do you stain for?
Ubiquitin
Where are the neurons lost from in huntingtons disease?
Caudate nucleus
and cerebral cortex
What is the pathological hallmark of Picks disease?
Picks cells which are swollen neurones and intracytoplasmic build up of tau protein (picks bodies)
What brain lobes are affected in Picks disease?
Frontal and temporal
In which type of dementia are people most aware of their mental deficits and most prone to depression and anxiety?
Multi infarct dementia
Which type of dementia tends to progress in a stepwise progression?
Multi infarct dementia
What is the normal volume of CSF in the brain?
120 - 150ml
Where is CSF produced?
Choroid plexus in the lateral and fourth ventricles of the brain
Where is CSF reabsorbed?
Arachnoid granulations
What is non communicating hydrocephalus?
An obstruction to the flow of CSF occuring within the ventricular system
What is communicating hydrocephalus?
Obstruction to the flow of CSF outside of the ventricular system
