Toxic/Metabolic/Nutritional Disease Flashcards
Airplane glue –which some people huff recreationally –is high in toluene, a chemical that _____________ neurons.
demyelinates
Methanol toxicity targets what brain structure?
The putamen
Ethyl alcohol damages __________ early.
white matter
Binge drinking can result in _____________.
cerebral edema
Chronic alcoholism affects the brain in these typical ways: ________________.
Cerebellar degeneration
Meningeal fibrosis
Cortical atrophy
Describe the facial features of those with fetal alcohol syndrome.
Thin upper lip Small eye openings Small midface Small head circumference Indistinct philtrum
Describe the pathophysiology of hepatic encephalopathy.
With liver failure, ammonia is not converted to urea. It passes to the brain and induces more synthesis of GABA and glutamate (because ammonia is a reactant in the reaction catalyzed by glutamine synthetase).
Thiamine is ____________.
vitamin B1 (“to THIne own–one–self B true)
Thiamine deficiency is mostly seen in __________.
alcoholics
Most metabolic disorders are ______________.
acquired and without morphological correlates
Name two medications that can lead to toxic effects on the CNS.
Doxorubicin and vincristine
Methotrexate damages which CNS cells?
Astrocytes
Your patient has elevated AST and ALT, and he starts showing signs of neurologic impairment. What should you think of?
Cerebral edema secondary to liver failure
Decreased caloric intake leads to what gross brain finding?
Low weight without microscopic changes
Thiamine deficiency can induce what encephalopathy? Where in the brain does this present?
Wernicke’s encephalopathy
Medial thalamus, floor of the fourth ventricle, periacqueductal gray matter, and mammillary bodies
