Pastest Flashcards
Which part of the brain degenerates in Huntington’s disease?
The caudate nucleus
“A 45 year old man has significant tics but his language, memory and insight are only mildly to moderately impaired. He also has prominent depression and a butterfly pattern in the caudate nucleus on CT scan. Which is the most likely form of dementia in this person?”
Huntington’s disease
This presents with bradykinesia, rigidity, cogwheeling and shuffling gait?
Parkinson’s disease
Triad of normal pressure hydrocephalus
- Dementia
- Shuffling gait
- Incontinence
Dementia
Shuffling gait
Incontinence
Normal pressure hydrocephalus
On CT or MRI scan, the patient will have expanded ventricles that compress the cerebral cortex
Normal pressure hydrocephalus
How does L-dopa work?
Passes through the BBB and is metabolized to dopamine
How many layers in the dura mater?
- 2 layers
- the two layers separate to enclose the venous sinuses
The dura mater is richly innervated and therefore, stretch causes pain. Give an example of pain associated with this
- Headahce of meningitis (caused by inflammation of the meninges)
- Postdural headache (after lumbar puncture or spinal anaesthetic) - headache results from the stimulation of sensory nerve endings due to stretch of the dura after removal of the CSF
This type of haematoma is commonly associated with trauma. Name the type of haematoma and the artery commonly involved
- Extradural haematoma
- Middle meningeal artery
This type of haematoma often occurs in elderly or demented people or in people with alcohol problems (bc shrinkage of the brain occurs)
-Subdural haematoma (venous bleeding between the dura mater and the arachnoid mater)
The bridging veins that run across the surface of the brain makes them vulnerable to bleeding).
As the bleed is venous rather than arterial, lower pressures result in a more gradual accumulation of blood than an arterial bleed. The result is a gradual deterioration in cognitive function and patients often present with confusion (chronic subdural haematoma).
This type of haematoma usually follows the rupture of a berry aneurysm in the region of the circle of Willis/
Subarachnoid haemorrhage
-This causes blood to contaminate the CSF (detected on lumbar puncture)
This type of bleed occurs within the brain parenchyma itself
Intracerebral bleed
Carries secretomotor fibres to the lacrimal gland through the greater petrosal nerve
Facial nerve
Secretomotor to the submandibular and sublingual glands
Facial nerve
Is the buccinator a muscle of mastication?
No, it keeps food pushed into the mouth during chewing so it only AID mastication
(therefore buccinator is supplied by CNVII, the muscles of mastication are supplied by the mandibular division of CNV)
Why do people with Bell’s palsy suffer from hyperacusis (sensitivity to sounds)
-Denervation of the stapedius muscle (normally serves to dampen down sounds in the middle ear).
Also suffer:
- loss of sensation to anterior 2/3rds of tongue
- dry eyes (loss of secretomotor supply to lacrimal gland) - this means you need to protect the eye to prevent keratitis and corneal ulceration in a facial nerve palsy. This is exacerbated by denervation of orbicularis oculi, which normally functions to spread the tear film over the surface of the cornea with the blinking reflex.
“A 42 year old lady attends a neurological outpatient clinic as an urgent referral, with a short but progressive history of double vision. It is noted by her husband that her speech would be worse last thing in the evening. She is a non-smoker and drinks 18 units a week of alcohol.”
- Myasthenia gravis (lol)
- You should carry out nerve conduction studies with repetitive nerve stimulation
Which type of skull fracture leads to “panda eyes”
Base of skull fracture (panda eyes = bruising around both eyes, not extending beyond the orbital margin)
What weird CSF stuff could you see in a base of skull fracture?
CSF Rhinorrhoea - can present like a nosebleed, following trauma.
Diagnose with blotting paper, if it is CSF rhinorrhoea, then it there will be a central blood clot surrounded by a stain of strw-coloured fluid (the CSF)
Base of skull fracture and x-ray findings
X-ray may not show the fracture BUT look for the sign of a fluid level in the sphenoidal sinus on the lateral x-ray
A CT scan shows a crescent shaped haematoma
(acute) subdural haematoma
A CT scan shows a lens-shaped (biconvex) haematoma
Extra-dural haematoma
A CT scan shows frontal contusions and a large amount of blood in the basal cisterns
Subarachnoid haemorrhage !! (Blood in the basal cisterns - around brainstem and midbrain) indicates subarachnoid haemorrhage !!
Supplies parasympathetic fibres to the submandibular and aublingual salivary glands
Facial nerve
An uncal herniation could damage which cranial nerve?
CNIII (occulomotor)
This type of herniation could also damage (compress) the posterior cerebral artery
See “friday night football” saved image on mac
Gottron papules and hleiotrope rash?
Dermatomyositis
Malar rash, discoid rash and photosensitivity?
SLE
“A middle aged lady presents with pain in the muscles around her shoulders. On examination, she is obese and has difficulty standing from a chair without using her hands. There are discrete, erythematous, scaly papules over her knuckles bilaterally.
Dermatomyositis
the papules are gottrons papules
This is the major descending motor tract in humans
The corticospinal tract
This tract connects the primary motor cortex with the alpha motor neurons in the ventral horn of the spinal cord
The corticospinal tract
Spasticity
UMN
Hyperreflexia
UMN
Pyramidal weakness
UMN (flexors stronger than extensors in arms and vice versa in legs)
Babinski sign
UMN
Clasp knife rigidity
UMN
Extensor plantar responses
UMN
A plexiform neuroma will cause UMN or LMN symptoms?
LMN (because its in the nerve plexus duh)
Mononeuritis multiplex will cause UMN or LMN signs?
LMN
LMN weakness is distal/segmental