Nutritional / Neurotox Flashcards
Symptoms (5) and treatment (4) for TCA overdose
- Symptoms
- widened QRS
- Hypotension
- anticholinergic effects
- SIADH
- Serotonin syndrome (if combined with other drugs)
- Treatment
- IV sodium bicarbonate
- Intubate if unresponsive
- IV fluids
- Activated charcoal if <2 hours since ingestion
Mechanism of PCP intoxication
Antagonism of NMDA receptors
Symptoms (5) and treatment of Arsenic Poisoing
Symptoms
- Stocking glove sensorimotor neuropathy
- diffuse hyperpigmentation
- GI disturbance
- “garlicky” odor
- Mees’ lines in nails (also seen with chronic renal failure and other heavy metal poisining
Treatment
- chelation with dimercaptopurol or dimercaptosuccininc acid (DMSA)

Symptoms of n-Hexane inhalation (5)
- CNS depression
- progressive, symmetric, ascenting sensorimotor peripheral axonopathy (“glue-sniffer neuropathy”)
- Facial numbness
- maculopathy
- optic neuropathy
Symptoms associated with Lead toxicity
Child (acute) - 5
Child (Chronic) - 2
Adult - 3
- Children (acute) = Lead encephalopathy
- Mental status changes
- Seizures
- Papilledema
- Cerebral edema
- Death
- Children (Chronic)
- Developmental / behavioral problems
- Low intelligence / school performance
- Adults = PNS toxicity
- Subacute motor > sensory axonopathy
- wrist / finger extension weakness is classic
- May be more nonspecific distal sensorimotor neuropathy
Symptoms of Mercury Poisoining:
- Common to all
- Organic (7)
- Elemental (6)
- Inorganic (13)
- Common to all
- Behvioral changes
- Organic (seafood ingestion)
- tremors / ataxia (floppy like a fish)
- visual field defects (think “fish can’t see in front of them”)
- Hearing loss (think “hard to hear underwater”)
- circumoral / acral parasthesias / neuropathy (think “gaping fish mouth)
- GI
- coma / death
- Elemental mercury (dental fillings, thermometers)
- “erethism”
- Gingivitis
- tremor (Danbury shakes)
- hallucinations
- memory loss / depression
- fatigue / somnolence
- “erethism”
- Inorganic (industrial toxin) (think johnny depp’s mad hatter, though hatters typically get elemental poisoning)
- “pink disease”
- painful, red, swollen fingers and toes (think mad hatter’s fingers in Alice in wonderland)
- desquamation of hands and feet
- psychiatric changes (“mad as a hatter”)
- loss of appetitie (only drinks tea)
- sweating
- salivation
- rash
- hair loss (no way that was Depp’s real hair)
- pruritiis
- photophobia
- GI
- Cardiac disturbances
- acute tubular necrosis / nephrotic disease
- “pink disease”
Symptoms (5) and treatment (1) of Thallium Poisining
- rapid onset painful sensory neuropathy
- alopecia (helps differentiate it from arsenic)
- (less commonly)
- cranial neuorpathies
- encephalopathy
- GI / Cardiac effects
Treatment = prussian blue
Diagnosis of arsenic poisioning
Acute
Chronic
Acute = Urine
Chronic = Hair (beware of incidental / non-toxic slight elevations!)
Symptoms / MRI findings of Manganese toxicity (5 + 2)
- Tremor
- parkinsonism
- dystonia
- cognitive
- T1 brightness in globus pallidus
- Possible association with parkinsonism and liver cirrhosis
Symptoms of Zinc Toxicity (4)
- copper deficiency
- myelopathy
- myeloneuropathy
- anemia with leukopenia
Treatment for benzodiazepine overdose
- Supportive vs flumazenil
Onset and symptoms (7) of Delirium Tremens
- Onset 48-96 hours after last drink
- Symptoms
- Hyperventilation > respiratory alkalosis
- cerebral blood restriction
- hyperthermia
- autonomic instability
- arrythmia
- disorientation
- delirium
Chronic neurologic effects of alcohol abuse (6)
- Korsakoff psychosis (after Wernicke’s)
- alcoholic cerebellar degeneration (vermian atrophy w/ gait ataxia)
- cerebral atrophy, cognitive impairment
- peripheral neuropathy
- myopathy
- Marchiafava-bignami disease (necrosis of CC in malnourished alcoholics)

Mechanism and Treatment for Organophosphate Poisoning
Mechanism
- binds to acetylcholinesterase in neurons and NMJ (flaccid paralysis w/ fasciculations) > buildup of acetylcholine
Treatment
- Atropine
- pralidoxime
- seizures mgmt w/ benzos
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Early (3) and late (4) effects
Early = non-specific
- headache, diziness, diminished concentration
- dyspnea
- chest pain
Late, can start up to 1 month later
- movement d/o
- parkinsonism-like features (shuffling gait, retropulsion)
- sometimes hyperkinetic
- Behavioral changes
- slowed cognition
- abulia
- mutism
- Cortical blindness
- incontinence
MRI abnormalities in Carbon monoxide poisining
- T2 hyperintensities or necrosis in pallidum / Basal ganglia
- Leukoencephalopathy

Vitamin A
- Symptoms of defiency (1)
- Symptoms of toxicity
- Acute (4)
- Chronic (6)
- other (1)
Vitamin A (retinol)
Symptoms of Deficiency
- Blindness
- poor bone growth
- hyperkeratosis
Toxicity
- Acute
- nausea / vomiting
- headache
- altered mental status
- anorexia
- Chronic
- osteoporisis / fractures
- hair loss
- dry skin
- insomnia
- fatigue
- Pseudotumor cerebri
- Also birth defects
Vitamin D
Symptoms of Deficiency (4)
Symptoms of Toxicity (2)
Deficiency
- rickets (children)
- osteomalacia (adults)
- hypocalcemic tetany
- predisposition to MS, Parkinsons, and Alzheimers
Toxicity
- Hypercalcemia
- Pancreatitis (from hypercalcemia)
Vitamin E
- Function
- Deficiency
- Toxicity
Function
- antioxidant, exact function is debated
Deficiency
- spinocerebellar ataxia 2/2 poor nerve conduction
- myopathy
- vision changes / night blindness
- hemolytic anemia
Toxicity
- Not necessarily toxicity, but supplementation may predispose to hemorrhagic stroke
Vitamin K
- Symptoms of deficiency
- Deficiency
- Prolonged PT and PTT
- no effect on bleeding time and platelet count
Vitamin B1
Symptoms of deficiency (9)
Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
- “wet beriberi”
- Heart failure
- edema
- “dry beriberi”
- pain, parathesias, weakness
- Laryngeal involvement is common (weak voice)
- weight loss
- emotional disturbances
- Wernicke’s encephalopathy
- irregular heartbeat
- (chronic) korsakoff’s syndrome
No real toxicity
Vitamin B2
Symptoms of defiency (7) and toxicity
B2 (riboflavin)
Deficiency = ariboflavinosis
- Photosensitivity
- cheilosis (cracked lips)
- Glossitis
- seborrheic dermatitis / pseudo-syphillis (particularly affecting scrotum/labia majora and mouth)
- phayrngitis
- hyperemia
- edema of pharyngeal and oral mucosa
Excess
- too much B2 can generate free radicals in eyes and skin when exposed to sun and light
B3
- Symptoms of deficiency (5)
- Symptoms of toxicity (4)
B3 (niacin)
Deficiency = pellagra
- Diarrhea
- Dermatitis
- face, neck, dorsal surfaces of limbs
- looks a little like a sunburn
- Dementia
- weakness
- Insomnia
Excess
- Flushing
- nausea
- vomiting
- signs / sx of liver toxicity
Vitamin B5
Symptoms of deficency (2)
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)
Deficiency (rare)
- acne
- parasthesia
No known toxicity
B6
Symtpoms of deficiency (6)
Symptoms of toxicity (2)
Pyridoxine
Deficiency
- Microcytic anemia
- depression
- dermatitis
- hypertension
- water retention
- elevated levels of homocysteine
- axonal neuropathy
Toxicity
- sensory neuronopathy (look for ataxic gait)
- dermatological lesions
B7
Symptoms of deficiency (2)
B7 (Biotin)
Deficiency
- Impaired growth and neurologic disorders in infants
No known toxicity
B9
- Symptoms of deficiency (3)
- Symptoms of toxicity (1)
B9 (folic acid)
Deficiency
- macrocytic anemia
- elevated levels of homocysteine
- NT defects (in pregnant women)
Toxicity
- masks B12 deficiency, which can lead to permanent neurological damage
B12
Deficiency (5)
Toxicity (1)
B12 (cobalamin)
Deficiency (more common in elderly and in perinicious anemia)
- macrocytic anemia
- elevated homocysteine
- peripheral neuropathy
- memory loss / other cognitive defecits
- Mania / psychosis
Toxicity
- Acne-like rash
Vitamin C deficiency
- scurvy
- Bleeding mucus membranes
- spongy gums
- brown skin spots
Symptoms of Psilocybin ingestion (4)
- Hallucinations
- myadriasis
- tachycardia
- hyperthermia
Symptoms of Mescaline ingestion (3)
- Nausea / vomiting
- diaphoresis
- Hallucinations
Vitamin Deficiencies that lead to increased Homocystine and how to differentiate among them
- Pyridoxine (B6)
- Microcytic anemia
- Folic Acid (B9)
- Macrocytic anemia
- NTD
- Cyanocobalamin
- Macrocitic anemia
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Memory loss
Symptoms of Chronic Selenium Poisoning
Differntiate between two toxic exposures resulting in “garlicky breath”
- Arsenic
- “Mees lines” on nails
- Selenium
- Sloughing of nails
- hair loss
Both have
- Gi disturbance
- irritability / neurologic impairment
Medical Causes for thyrotoxicosis
- exogenous thyroid replacement (duh)
- amiodarone
- litium
Adverse effects of Amiodarone
- hyperthyroidism / thryrotoxicosis
- hypothyroidism
- corneal deposits
- optic neuropathy
- non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (N-AION)
- peripheral neuropathy
Mechanism behind tetrodotoxin
AKA pufferfish toxin
- sodium channel blockade
What is this?

basophillic stipping (lead poisoning)
Occupational exposure table


What are people with organophosphate poisoning at risk for years later
Delayed peripheral neuropathy
Ciguatera toxicity
Where is it found?
symptoms
- GI (3)
- GU (1)
- neuro (5)
- psych (2)
- derm (2)
- found in tropical reef fish
- Symptoms
- GI
- abdominal pain
- hypersalivation
- vomiting / diarrhea
- GU
- Pain
- Neuro
- Dysasthesias
- burning mouth
- “sensory inversion” (hot is cold, cold is hot)
- cranial neuropathies
- meningeal signs / symptoms
- Psych
- hysteria / delirium
- depression
- Derm
- rash
- hair/nail loss
- GI
Patient with urinary tract infection is going in for surgery
What herbal supplement would you want to make sure she isn’t taking?
What herbal supplements could result in the opposite effect of the one above?
Nettle (taken for UTI’s) can be assocaited with decreased bleeding
Ginko Baloba and Kava Kava can be associated with increased bleeding time.
Name herbal supplements that can cause:
Increased Bleeding (2)
Decreased bleeding (1)
Hepatotoxicity (2)
Hallucinations / Psychosis (2)
Serotonin Syndrome (1)
- Increased bleeding
- Kava Kava
- Ginko Baloba
- Decreased bleeding
- Nettle
- Hepatotoxicity
- Kava Kava
- Black Cohosh
- Hallucinations / psychosis
- Kava Kava
- Yohimbine
- Serotonin syndrome
- St. John’s wort
Patient is admitted with anorexia nervosa (purging type)
Name 8 conditions you should be worried about
Hypochloremia
Alkalosis
Elevated serum bicarbonate
Leukopenia
arrythmia (due to extreme hypokalemia)
hypomagnesemia
hypophosphatemia
hypocalcemia
Unique Symptoms of Vitamin Deficiencies:
Seizures (1)
Spinocerebellar Degeneration (1)
Myelopathy (2)
Seizures: B6 (pyridoxine)
Spinocerebellar ataxia: Vitamin E
Myelopathy:
Vitamin E
Vitamin D
Add-on treatment for hypoglycemia in patients taking metformin
Octreotide
Conditions that can increase risk for pernicious anemia
History of hashimotos thyroiditis
Type 1 diabetes
(i.e. autoimmune conditions)
Anti-abuse medications: Mechanism of action
Methadone
Buprenorphine
Naltrexone
Methadone: full opiod agonist
buprenorphine: partial opioid agonist
Naltrexone: mu-opioid receptor ANTagonist