UW2 Flashcards
question
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (typically named “-pril”) are one of the most important agents in treating hypertension, heart failure, and renal failure with or without proteinuria. They work by preventing the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II. This prevents the efferent arteriole from constricting more than the afferent arteriole, thus decreasing the glomerular pressure and glomerular filtration rate (GFR). It is expected for the GFR to decrease in all patients initially. Most clinicians are generally not concerned by this unless the creatinine increases by greater than 30% because the long-term benefits of ACE inhibitors are well studied. Other common side-effects of ACE inhibitors include hyperkalemia and cough.
Myasthenia Gravis pathophysiology
MG is most commonly caused by autoantibodies against postsynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Binding of antibody to these receptors results in blockade of the receptor’s active site, receptor internalization and degradation, and damage to the motor end plate due to complement fixation. Overall, this leads to decreased numbers of functional acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction. The decrease in the number of available cation channels reduces the end plate potential following acetylcholine release. Because the threshold potential is not reached, the muscle cells do not depolarize. Synaptic concentrations of acetylcholine are unaffected, unlike in botulism or Lambert-Eaton syndrome.
Pilocarpine MOA
Pilocarpine is a nonselective muscarinic receptor agonist.
Glycopyrrolate MOA
Selective muscarinic antagonists (eg, glycopyrrolate, hyoscyamine, propantheline) can be used to reduce the side effects of cholinesterase inhibitors in sites where acetylcholine action is mediated by muscarinic receptors (ie, gastrointestinal tract). Because of their selectivity, these drugs improve side effects without affecting the action of cholinesterase inhibitors on skeletal muscle, which uses nicotinic receptors.
MEchanism of Collagen synthesis
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a group of hereditary disorders involving a defect in collagen synthesis. EDS usually manifests clinically as hypermobilejoints, overelasticskin, and fragile tissue susceptible to bruising, wounds, and hemarthrosis. Common mutations leading to EDS phenotypes include deficiencies of the lysyl hydroxylase and procollagen peptidase enzymes responsible for collagen synthesis.
Actions of aldosterone in the collecting ducts
question
Failure of the urachus to obliterate
Around 3 weeks gestation, the yolk sac forms a protrusion (allantois) that extends into the urogenital sinus. The upper part of the urogenital sinus gives rise to the bladder. The allantois, which originally connected the urogenital sinus with the yolk sac, becomes the urachus, a duct between the bladder and the yolk sac. Failure of the urachus to obliterate before birth leads to several abnormalities:
Complete failure of obliteration of the urachus results in a patent urachus that connects the umbilicus and bladder. Patients present with straw-colored urine discharge from the umbilicus, which is exacerbated by crying, straining, or prone position. Local skin irritation can cause erythema.
Failure to close the distal part of the urachus (adjacent to the umbilicus) results in a urachal sinus. This presents with periumbilical tenderness and purulent umbilical discharge due to persistent and recurrent infection.
Failure of the central portion of the urachus to obliterate leads to a urachal cyst.
Question
C. Potassium Channels
This patient’s clinical presentation is suggestive of Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome, an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and congenital long QT syndrome, which predisposes individuals to syncope and sudden cardiac death.
This syndrome occurs secondary to mutations in genes (eg, KCNQ1, KCNE1) that encode the alpha and beta subunits of voltage-gated potassium channels. These subunits contribute to the slow-acting component of the outward-rectifying potassium current, which is responsible for ventricular repolarization during phase 3 of the cardiac action potential. Mutations in the potassium channel lead to a decrease in potassium current with prolongation of action potential duration and the QT interval. QT interval prolongation predisposes to the development of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, such as torsades de pointes and ventricular fibrillation.
ECG to Ventricular action potential
question
D. Increased Intraabdominal pressure
Several physiologic changes in pregnancy contribute to SUI. The gravid uterus applies pressure on the bladder and stretches the connective tissue and muscles that normally support the pelvic organs. In addition, increased progesterone levels relax the muscles responsible for maintaining urinary continence: the external urethral sphincter and pelvic floor muscles (levator ani muscle complex). Normally, the external urethral sphincter compresses the urethra and creates a high urethral closing pressure. The pelvic floor muscles usually stabilize the urethra against the anterior vaginal wall and contract to decrease the urethrovesical angle, thereby kinking the urethra closed.
Because of decreased urethral sphincter tone and pelvic floor muscle laxity, the compression and position/angle of the urethra are compromised such that sudden increases in intraabdominal pressure (eg, coughing, sneezing) can cause the pressure within the bladder to exceed the urethral closing pressure. This leads to intermittent leakage of urine.
Question
Congenital hypothyroidism is one of the most common causes of preventable intellectual disability. Most cases are due to thyroid dysgenesis (agenesis, hypoplasia, or ectopy), and iodine deficiency is a common cause in areas endemic for iodine deficiency (eg, Europe).
Neonates initially have no significant symptoms due to the presence of maternal thyroxine (T4) from transplacental transfer. T4 is responsible for the stimulation of protein synthesis as well as carbohydrate and lipid catabolism in many cells; as maternal T4 wanes, metabolism is impaired and marked by a slowing of physical and mental activity (lethargy, poor feeding, constipation, hypotonia). Accumulation of matrix substances cutaneously and internally results in nonpitting edema (eg, “puffy” face), umbilical hernia, protruding tongue, and a large anterior fontanelle. In addition, T4 is essential for normal brain development and myelination during early life, and infants are at risk of severe and irreversible intellectual disability.
Treatment with levothyroxine by age 2 weeks can normalize cognitive and physical development.
Therefore, universal newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism is performed in the United States but not in all other countries.
Standard deviations of a normal distribution
% of data within +/- 1 standard deviation
68%
% of data within +/- 2 standard deviation
% of data within +/- 3 standard deviation
99.7%
Congenital adrenal hyperplasias
17 alpha-hydroxylase deficiency
This patient is genetically male (46,XY) with features suggestive of 17 alpha-hydroxylase deficiency, a rare cause of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). The enzyme 17 alpha-hydroxylase is active in the adrenal glands and gonads and is responsible for converting pregnenolone to 17-hydroxypregnenolone and progesterone to 17-hydroxyprogesterone. Deficiency of this enzyme impairs synthesis of sex hormones (eg, testosterone, estradiol) and cortisol but does not inhibit mineralocorticoid production.
Due to the absence of androgens in utero, genetic males (46,XY) with 17 alpha-hydroxylase deficiency have undervirilized, ambiguous genitalia. In severe cases, they appear phenotypically female but lack internal female genitalia, as in this case. In contrast, genetic females (46,XX) develop normal internal and external genitalia. At puberty, impaired synthesis of sex hormones in the gonads leads to absent secondary sexual characteristics in both sexes and primary amenorrhea in girls.
Excess mineralocorticoid production results in hypertension and hypokalemia that are usually detected around the expected time of puberty. Low cortisol provides positive feedback to increase ACTH production, further stimulating the mineralocorticoid pathway. This allows for the excess production of weak glucocorticoids (ie, corticosterone), preventing the detrimental effects of low cortisol.
11β-Hydroxylase deficiency
*Low aldosterone but excessive, weak mineralocorticoid (11-deoxycorticosterone).
High mineralocorticoids and androgens and low glucocorticoids
ambiguous genitalia in girls
17α-Hydroxylase
**Low cortisol but excessive, weak glucocorticoid (corticosterone)
Low androgens but high mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids
ambiguous genitalia in boys
21 hydroxylase deficiency
Low mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids but high androgens
Ambiguous genitalia in girls
A 57-year-old man comes to the hospital due to nausea, vomiting, and severe crampy pain in the right flank. He has had no fever or chills. Several days ago, the patient had similar, but less severe, pain that resolved spontaneously. Medical history is significant for type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and gout. Temperature is 37 C (98.6 F), blood pressure is 160/100 mm Hg, and pulse is 98/min. Physical examination shows right flank tenderness. Blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine are normal. Abdominal ultrasound reveals right-sided hydronephrosis and proximal ureteral dilation. Urinalysis in this patient would most likely reveal which of the following?
This patient has acute, recurrent flank pain associated with ureteral dilation; this presentation is typical for acute ureterolithiasis. Although ultrasound is relatively sensitive for ureteral and calyceal dilation due to an obstructing stone (hydronephrosis), small stones themselves may not be visible.
Kidney stones usually cause disruption of the ureteral epithelium with resulting gross or microscopic hematuria due to the presence of free red blood cells (RBCs) in the urine. When bleeding into the renal collecting system or lower urinary tract occurs, RBC morphology is normal. In contrast, glomerular bleeding (eg, glomerulonephritis) causes formation of RBC casts due to trapping of RBCs by precipitating Tamm-Horsfall protein (Choice C); the cells are typically dysmorphic due to mechanical and osmotic trauma as they pass through the nephron.
Inspection of urine sediment in patients with acute ureterolithiasis may identify crystals corresponding to the type of stone. This patient has risk factors for uric acid stones, including gout and metabolic syndrome (obesity, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia), and urinalysis may show polygonal uric acid crystals (which are morphologically distinct from the needle-shaped monosodium urate crystals seen in synovial fluid in acute gout).
question
Thiamine deficiency
Beriberi (peripheral neuropathy, heart failure)
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
Riboflavin deficiency
Cheilosis, stomatitis, glossitis
Normocytic anemia
Niacin Deficiency
Pellagra (dermatitis, dementia, diarrhea)
Pantothenic acid deficiency
Distal paresthesia (rare)
Pyridoxine deficiency
Peripheral neuropathy
Cheilosis, stomatitis, glossitis
Biotin deficiency
Dermatitis, conjunctivitis, alopecia, neurologic changes
Folate deficiency
Megaloblastic anemia
Neural tube defects (fetus)
Cobalamin Deficiency
Megaloblastic anemia
Neurologic deficits
Ascorbic Acid Deficiency
Scurvy (perifollicular hemorrhage, gingivitis, muscle pain)
Glucocorticoid MOA
question