Problem 9

Question 1

Tumor

Answer 1

a mass of cells whose growth is uncontrolled and serves no useful function

–> damages by infiltration + compression

Question 2

Malignant tumor

Answer 2

harmful tumor / cancerous

–> no distinct border between mass of tumor cells + surrounding tissue (hard to remove)

Question 3

Benign tumor

Answer 3

harmless tumor / encapsulated

–> distinct border between the mass of tumor cells + surrounding tissue (easy to remove)

Question 4

Metastases

Answer 4

shed cells which then travel through the blood stream

–> serve as seeds for the growth of new tumors in different locations of the body

=> form of malignant tumor

Question 5

Glioma

Answer 5

Brain tumors that arise from glial cells and infiltrate brain substance

–> originate from transformations of neural stem cells

Question 6

Seizure

Answer 6

period of sudden excessive activity of cerebral neurons

–> nearly all genes that play a role in seizures control ion channels

–> cause damage to the hippocampus due to an excessive loss of glutamate

Question 7

Convulsion

Answer 7

uncontrollable activity of the muscles

Question 8

Generalized seizures

Answer 8

widespread, involve most of the brain

Question 9

Absence seizure

Petit mal

Answer 9

type of generalized seizure, very brief seizures - hard to detect

ex.: kind das in die ferne starrt

Question 10

Grand mal

Answer 10

type of generalized seizure that occurs in 2 stages

1. Tonic phase: all muscles contract forcefully which leads to unconsciousness of the person
2. Clonic phase: muscles begin trembling, jerk convulsively –> after some time they relax

Question 11

Partial seizures

Answer 11

source of irritation is a specific brain region

Question 12

Simple partial seizures

Answer 12

cause a change in consciousness

Question 13

Complex partial Seizures

Answer 13

cause a loss of consciousness

Question 14

Stroke

Answer 14

derives from a variety of vascular disorders

Question 15

Hemorrhagic stroke

Cerebral Hemorrhage

Answer 15

caused by bleeding within the brain

–> blood seeps in surrounding blood tissue, damaging it

Question 16

Ischemic Stroke

Answer 16

• block a blood vessel and obstruct the blood flow

–> caused by thrombi and emboli

Question 17

Thrombus

Answer 17

blood clot that forms in blood vessels

Question 18

Embolus

Answer 18

formed in one part of the vascular system,

–> carried through blood stream + passes through too small arteries

=> obstructs blood flow

Question 19

Ischemic Stroke

Process

Answer 19

1. Interruption of the blood supply to a specific brain region leads to a depletion of oxygen and glucose
2. Sodium potassium pump stops functioning
3. Neural membranes become depolarized
   - -> excessive release of glutamate
4. Activation of glutamate receptors leads to
   - -> increase of Na+ ions
   - -> absorption of huge amounts of Ca+

=> presence of Na+ and Ca+ = toxic

5. Intracellular Na+ causes cell to absorb water (cells swell)
6. Swell –> activates microglia which become phagocytic (Fresszelle)
7. microglia destroys injured cells
8. Damaged mitochondria produces free radicals

Question 20

Penetrating Brain Injury/Open Head Injury

Answer 20

Dura mater + skull is breached/injured

Question 21

Closed head injury

Answer 21

Skull + dura mater remain intact

Question 22

Coup

Answer 22

“Blow”

The injury to the brain that occurs in the area of direct impact

Question 23

Contrecoup

Answer 23

“Counterblow”

The pressure of the blow might push the brain against the opposite side, causing an additional bruise

Question 24

Parkinsons disease

Answer 24

• Degenerative disorder

–>deficiency of automatic, habitual responses due to damage to basal ganglia

–> patients have almost no nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons (surviving neurons contain lewy bodies)

Question 25

Symptoms of Parkinson’s

Answer 25

• resting tremor
• postural instability
• muscular rigidity

Question 26

Akinesa

Answer 26

difficulty in initiating movement

–> decreased activity of the supplementary Motor area

Question 27

Where do tremors come from ?

Answer 27

result from abnormalities in

• -> pons
• -> cerebellum
• -> midbrain
• -> thalamus

Question 28

Causes of Parkinsons

Answer 28

–> mutation of a gene on chromosome 6 that produces a gene called parkin

this mutation permits a high level of defective proteins to accumulate in dopaminergic system + damage its neurons

–> mutation of a gene that produces a-synuclein

this mutation produces a toxic gain of function

Question 29

Parkin

Answer 29

gene, transfers defective proteins to proteasomes which in turn destroy these defective proteins

Question 30

Dementia

Answer 30

acquired and persistent syndrome of intellectual impairment

Question 31

Cause of Dementia

Answer 31

accumulation of defective proteins

ex.: tau proteins, a-synuclein

Question 32

Paralimbic System

Answer 32

undergoes most severe changes

–> especially entorhinal cortex which is affected the earliest and most severely

Question 33

Entorhinal cortex

Answer 33

Major relay through which information flows from neocortex to hippocampus

• as neocortex is degenerated, information doesn’t arrive at hippocampus => memory loss
• part of paralimbic system

Question 34

Regions that are damaged the most as a result from Dementia

Answer 34

• neocortex

- paralimbic system

Question 35

Regions that are spared from dementia

Answer 35

• brainstem
• cerebellum
• spinal cord

Question 36

Hemathoma

Answer 36

solid swelling of clotted blood within the tissues

Question 37

Arteriosclerosis

Answer 37

• thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of arteries
• occurring typically in old age

–> restricts blood flow to organs and tissues

Question 38

Meningiomas

Answer 38

Tumors that grow between the meninges

• originates mostly in dura mater

–> most benign brain tumor