Dementia 02
Topic: Imaging
Created on Thursday, February 22 2007 by jdmiles
Last modified on Thursday, February 22 2007.
A 89 year-old male presents to your office accompanied by his spouse, who provides most of the history.
The spouse states that for the past 3 years, the patient has complained of rigidity, has complained of seeing visions of flying blue cougars, has had more and more trouble remembering things, has complained of a tremor in his hands, has been increasingly slow getting around, and has had periods when he is lethargic and drowsy, and others when he is more alert.
Which of the following pathology findings is MOST characteristic of this patient's disease?
A) Punctate hemorrhages in periaqueductal grey and in the grey matter surrounding the 3rd and 4th ventricles B) Inclusions comprised primarily of Huntingtin C) Inclusions comprised primarily of tau protein D) Basophilic cytoplasmic inclusions E) Eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions
This question was created on February 22, 2007 by jdmiles.
This question was last modified on February 22, 2007.
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
A) punctate hemorrhages in periaqueductal grey and in the grey matter surrounding the 3rd and 4th ventricles
This answer is incorrect.
This patient's history is consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Patients with DLB develop Parkinsonian symptoms and dementia symptoms at approximately the same time. Other key clinical features include recurrent visual hallucinations and fluctuations in mental status. Punctate hemorrhages in periaqueductal grey and in the grey matter surrounding the 3rd and 4th ventricles are seen in Wenicke encephalopathy. (
See References)
B) inclusions comprised primarily of Huntingtin
This answer is incorrect.
This patient's history is consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Patients with DLB develop Parkinsonian symptoms and dementia symptoms at approximately the same time. Other key clinical features include recurrent visual hallucinations and fluctuations in mental status. Lewy bodies are eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions comprised mainly of alpha-synuclein. Huntingtin is a protein associated with Huntington chorea. (
See References)
C) inclusions comprised primarily of tau protein
This answer is incorrect.
This patient's history is consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Patients with DLB develop Parkinsonian symptoms and dementia symptoms at approximately the same time. Other key clinical features include recurrent visual hallucinations and fluctuations in mental status. Lewy bodies are eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions comprised mainly of alpha-synuclein, not tau protein. (
See References)
D) basophilic cytoplasmic inclusions
This answer is incorrect.
This patient's history is consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Patients with DLB develop Parkinsonian symptoms and dementia symptoms at approximately the same time. Other key clinical features include recurrent visual hallucinations and fluctuations in mental status. Lewy bodies are eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions. (
See References)
E) eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions
This answer is correct.
This patient's history is consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Patients with DLB develop Parkinsonian symptoms and dementia symptoms at approximately the same time. Other key clinical features include recurrent visual hallucinations and fluctuations in mental status. Lewy bodies are eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions which contain alpha-synuclein. (
See References)
References:
1. Victor, M., and Ropper, A.H. (2001). Adams and Victor's Principles of Neurology, 7th Edition. McGraw-Hill, New York. | |
2. DeKosky, S.T., Kaufer, D.I., and Lopez, O.L. (2004). The Dementias. In Bradley, W.G., Daroff, R.B., Fenichel, G.M., and Jankovic, J. (Eds.). Neurology in Clinical Practice, 4th Edition. Butterworth Heinemann, Philadelphia. Pp. 1901-1951 | |
3. Prayson, R.A., and Goldblum, J.R. (Eds.) (2005). Neuropathology. Elsevier, Philadelphia. | |
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imaging
Dementia 02
Question ID: 02220701
Question written by J. Douglas Miles, (C) 2006-2009, all rights reserved.
Created: 02/22/2007
Modified: 02/22/2007
Estimated Permutations: 0