Uworld33 Flashcards
What is Dubin Johnson syndrome?
a benign disorder characterized by defective hepatic excretion of bilirubin glucuronides across the canalicular membrane, resulting in direct hyperbilirubinemia and jaundice.
Grossly, the liver appears black due to impaired excretion of epinephrine metabolites, which histologically appear as dense pigments within lysosomes.
What is pheochromocytoma?
a tumor arising from the chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla characterized by excess production of catecholamines.
Clinical features: episodic hypertension, diaphoresis, and palpitations.
Microscopic exam: electron dense, membrane bound secretory granules
Immunohistochem: positive for synaptophysin, chromogranin, and neuron specific enolase
What is psoriasis?
a common inflammatory skin disorder characterized by hyperkeratosis (overgrowth of the stratum corneum) and epidermal hyperplasia.
Plaque psoriasis is the most common form and presents with chronic well demarcated, erythematous plaques with a thick, silver scale
How does corticosteroids treat asthma?
Corticosteroids (fluticasone, budesonide) have multiple beneficial effects in the treatment of asthma.
In addition to their anti-inflammatory effect, corticosteroids upregulate beta-2 receptors on bronchial smooth muscle to increase cellular responsiveness to adrenergic stimuli and potentiate the bronchodilatory response to inhaled beta-2 agonists (albuterol)
Histopath for meningomas
Meningiomas are slow growing, well circumscribed, benign intracranial tumors typically found at the cerebral convexities in adults.
Characteristics histopath: syncytial nests and a whorled pattern of cellular growth, which may calcify into round, laminar structures called psammoma bodies.
What is the primary virulence factor of neiserria?
Pili are the primary virulence factor that allow Neisseria meningitidis to initially attach to and colonize the nasopharyngeal epithelial surface.
Pili undergo significant antigenic variation, which makes them a difficult vaccination target.
What is seen on a left shift on the hemoglobin oxygen dissociation curve?
A left shift of the hemoglobin oxygen dissociation curve indicates increased hemoglobin O2 affinity and can be caused by increased pH, decreased 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate, and decreased temp.
Leftward shifts of the curve inhibit the release of O2 within peripheral tissues
Treatment of septic arthritis
A high synovial fluid leukocyte count (>100,000)and absent crystals on microscopic exam strongly suggest bacterial joint infection.
Septic arthritis requires antibiotic treatment to prevent joint destruction, osteomyelitis, and sepsis
What is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease?
a prion disease characterized by rapidly progressive dementia, myoclonus, and death within a year of symptom onset.
It is caused by the accumulation of an abnormally folded (ie, beta pleated sheet) protein that is resistant to proteases and can trigger similar conformational changes in other normally folded proteins.
Multiple sclerosis results from?
an autoimmune demyelinating disease that results from oligodendrocyte depletion.
Within the lesions, inflammatory infiltrates of lymphocytes and macrophages are seen surrounding oligodendrocytes and myelin sheaths.
Oligoclonal bands are highly sensitive but nonspecific in patients with MS.
Function of transforming growth factor beta
critical for fibroblast migration, proliferation, and connective tissue synthesis.
Increased TGF-beta activity is responsible for the hypertrophic/keloid scarring and fibrosis of the lung, liver, and kidney that occur with chronic inflammation
Why does S3 develop in severe mitral regurg?
Patients with severe mitral regurg develop left sided volume overload with an S3 gallop due to the large volume of regurgitant flow reentering the ventricle during mid-diastole.
The absence of an S3 gallop excludes severe chronic MR.
What is effect modification?
present when the effect of the main exposure on the outcome is modified by the presence of another variable. Effect modification is not a bias.
What are the labs for Down syndrome?
Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal anomaly.
It is associated with low levels of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and estriol, while b-hCG and inhibin A levels are increased.
Elevated AFP levels are seen in multiple gestation, open neural tube defects, and abdominal wall defects.
What is immunosenescense?
the normal age-related decline that impairs most aspects of immune function, including the production of naive B and T cells.
This results in a diminished antibody-based immune response to novel antigens (eg, infections, vaccinations). The immune response to previously experienced pathogens is typically intact due to normal or increased levels of memory B and T cells and preserved antibody quality.
What is hemoglobin S (HbS)?
HbS aggregates in the deoxygenated state.
HbS polymers form fibrous strands that reduce red blood cell membrane flexibility and promote sickling.
Sickling occurs under conditions associated with anoxia including low pH and high levels of 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate.
These inflexible erythrocytes predispose to microvascular occlusion and microinfarcts.
Mechanism of diphtheria toxin
an AB exotoxin that ribosylates and inactivates elongation factor-2. This action inhibits protein synthesis and ultimately leads to cell death
What can cause central diabetes insipidus?
Injury to hypothalamus or posterior pituitary (eg, head trauma, transsphenoidal neurosurgery, suprasellar masses) can result in central diabetes insipidus.
Damage to the posterior pituitary gland typically causes transient DI, whereas damage to the hypothalamic nuclei often causes permanent DI.
What is the main purpose of binding in a clinical trial?
to prevent patient or researcher expectancy from interfering with an outcome.
Patients who have overdosed on beta blockers should be treated with?
glucagon, which increases heart rate and contractility independent of adrenergic receptors. Glucagon activates G-protein-coupled receptors on cardiac myocytes, causing activation of adenylate cyclase and raising intracellular cAMP. The result is calcium release from intracellular stores and increased sinoatrial node firing.
Function of the cysteinyl-containing leukotrienes (ie, leukotriene C4, D4, and E4)
are inflammatory mediators that stimulate bronchoconstriction, bronchial mucus secretion, and bronchial edema to contribute to the pathogenesis of asthma.
Leukotriene receptor antagonists (eg, montelukast, zafirlukast) treat asthma by binding to leukotriene receptors on bronchial smooth muscle cells and blocking these effects.
Function of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)
levels are increased in colon cancer but are also elevated in a number of other conditions (eg, pancreatic cancer, COPD, cirrhosis)
CEA cannot be used to diagnose colon cancer, but it is helpful for detecting residual disease and recurrence.
What is parvovirus B19 infection?
can cause transient aplastic crisis, particularly in those with underlying hemoglobin disorders such as sickle cell anemia.
Patients develop symptomatic anemia (eg, exertional dyspnea, fatigue, low hematocrit) due to inhibition of erythropoiesis by the virus. Bone marrow examination will show giant pronormoblasts with glassy, intranuclear viral inclusions.
What type of agglutinins does mycoplasma pneumoniae have?
Mycoplasma pneumoniae binds an oligosaccharide on the respiratory epithelium that is also present on erythrocytes, leading to the generation of cross-reacting IgM antibodies (cold agglutinins).
Patients with M pneumoniae infections often develop mild, transient hemolytic anemia that resolves as IgM antibody titers decline (6-8 weeks after infection begins).